The Legend of Zelda: The Truth in Darkness
by porschedriv47
Summary: He never knew much about his past, but he decided to travel to Hyrule to find out. Within a few months of arriving, a war breaks out, and dreadful secrets from the past will be revealed.
1. Prolouge: High in the Heavens

**The Legend of Zelda: The Truth in Darkness**

**By porschedriv47**

Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda series or related, Nintendo do. I only own just this story and original characters used in this story.

A/N: Few things to note. I have never written a multi-chapter story before, my English isn't top grade, and this is my first fan-fiction story. My creativity isn't very good either. As with most fan-fiction stories I've seen here, don't expect this one to be finished. I might run out of ideas or lose interest along the way.

Twilight Princess for GameCube was the first Zelda game I played, and at time of this story, only Zelda game I played. Basically, I don't know everything about Zelda like all the characters or locations. Reviews are appreciated to help improve the story.

* * *

**Prolouge: High in the Heavens**

A child was born.

Three goddesses were watching it. The baby boy was asleep, unaware of his true surroundings. Then one of the goddesses spoke. "He is a handsome child isn't he? What do you think, Farore?"

"Yes Nayru, he is nice. He looks a bit like you, Din," Farore answered.

"Yes he does. He looks a lot like his father too," replied Din.

There was silence for the next few moments.

"I think he will do fine here," Farore smiled.

Nayru thought for a few moments, and then a frown came to her face. "No, the child will have to live a normal life until he is ready. Otherwise he will be corrupted by his own power."

"But where are we going to send him?" asked Din, expressing some concern. "Hyrule is much too much of a risk."

"We send him not to Hyrule, but to Termina. He will be sent to Clock Town to the couple who looks the most like him, so that he thinks that they are his parents. His foster parents will receive a letter. The letter will ask the parents to care for the child, but will be left unsigned. It will finally ask them to tell the child the truth when he is of age," Nayru explained.

"Termina is too much of a risk. We can't send him to his father's land," Din said.

"His father is in another land, far away from Termina, and he will not return to Termina for quite some time. It's risky, but it's a best choice we have," Nayru said.

Din closed her eyes and nodded. Farore walked over the child, and raised her right hand over the child. A green aura surrounded the hand, and a small round sphere of light came out of the child's chest. The light hovered over the child's chest, and Nayru used her power to remove something from the sphere of light. What was removed was a dark sphere, which contained a great and dangerous power...Din used her power to send the dark sphere into a mask. The sphere hovering over the child is now pure light, which sank slowly back into the child's chest.

"Now, the child will be sent down to Termina, and he will live a mortal life until his time comes," Nayru said. A dim, green aura surrounded the child, and he was sent down to Termina, along with the dark mask...


	2. Chapter 1: Clock Town

**Chapter 1: Clock Town**

_16 years later…_

The sun was high in the sky, and Clock Town was busy as usual during the morning in the market area. Crowded, noisy, even a bit unbearable, the market was bustling with people. Towards the outskirts of town, in a decent 2-story house, Kino was reading a book on the history of Termina when his 14-year-old obnoxious brother, Cannon, came barging in.

"Hey, guess what I got?" asked Cannon.

"Another slingshot?" Kino said without any particular interest, eyes still on the book.

"No, it's this." Cannon pulled out behind him a fairly tall, fancy bow. It was made of fine wood, string, and had the family crest just above the handle. "It's so good, it's the best bow in the world," Cannon bragged.

"Pretty impressive, but there is a bow that can beat that," Kino stated, finally looking up.

"What would that be?"

"It's called the Hero's bow. Made a long time ago for some person they called the 'Hero of Time.' He saved a land called Hyrule from a great evil, and it now currently sits somewhere in a place called Death Mountain," Kino explained.

Cannon immediately lost interest after the first sentence. "Do you think people would want to know that, smartass?"

"Yes, and shut up," Kino shot back.

"That's enough." Their father was standing at the doorway. "Cannon, don't swear, and go clean up the basement. Kino, help me carry some things to the store."

Cannon went downstairs, while Kino began, with some difficulty, to lift some heavy boxes filled with weapons and armor to his father's shop. When they arrived, Kino placed all the shiny armor bits on display.

"Can't there be a better way to carry all this stuff from our house to your shop?" Kino asked.

"Sadly no. Can't use carts since they are too expensive and the marketplace is already crowded enough during the day as is," his father noted. "Besides, you don't seem to have much of a problem."

"I know, it's not that bad. I was just wondering why-"

Kino was interrupted by a scene out the shop window. People were gathering and were looking east, with a look of worry in their eyes. Kino stepped out of the shop to see what it was, and was amazed. Out in the horizon, past the Stone Towers, was a massive wall, but it wasn't stone. It was like a wall to another realm, and had golden and blackish colors on it. There was chatter among the citizens, and Kino overheard someone behind him whisper; "I think it might be an entry to the twilight world..."

_Several months later…_

It's Kino's 17th birthday. The "twilight" wall disappeared weeks ago, and most people resumed their lives like it never happened. Kino still had it in his mind, though, and the only thing he could find out about the "Twilight" was that a bunch of greedy, idiotic sorcerers went after this great power, got in trouble, got locked away in the "Twilight Realm," and was pretty much stuck there forever. The textbook he got this info from had aged greatly, so Kino couldn't get much out of it, and it was also the only book he could find on the topic.

Kino's father walked into Kino's room that morning, carrying a somewhat long, wooden case. He laid it on Kino's desk. Kino got up from his chair by the window and walked over to the case.

"Go ahead and open it," his father said, smiling.

Kino opened the case to find a brilliantly shining piece of metal. It was a steel claymore, slightly narrow, and with an elegantly crafted hilt. Kino stared at it with amazement for a few moments, and then reached for the hilt with his left hand. He lifted the sword with one hand, and then grasped it with two. The claymore felt well-weighted. It had its own mobile case that matched the hilt. Kino put it on his back and sheathed his sword.

"Your mother and I figured it was already time for you to have your own sword. Think of it as a way to get away from the books for a while," his father said. Kino chuckled.

"We'll get you sword lessons soon, but for now, I need you to take a very important package to a friend," his father said.

As Kino walked out of his room, Cannon came up to him.

"So what did you get?" he asked. His question was already answered just by looking over Kino's left shoulder and noticing the claymore's hilt. "Hey, how come he gets such a cool looking sword?" Cannon complained jealously.

Kino's father sighed and gave the typical parental response. "You will get something like that when you are older."

What Kino had to carry to his father's friend's house was quite large. It wasn't really heavy, but it was tall enough that Kino could barely see where he was going. As he walked through Clock Town, he bumped into at least 10 people. When he reached the stairway to go down into the crowded market area, he carefully went down each step. As expected, he misses a step and could've ended up falling down the stairs and the package would go tumbling. However, he didn't fall. Instead, he only got as far as leaning forward before he felt somebody pushing against the package, allowing Kino to regain his balance.

"Sorry, terribly sorry," Kino apologized.

"Don't worry about it. Let me help you with that."

The voice that replied was a lot like Kino's but slightly different and a bit deeper. When they dropped off the package, Kino turned to the person who helped him.

"Thanks. Sorry about that. I…" Kino couldn't finish his sentence. What he saw in front of him was almost a mirror image of himself. The young man in front of him had the same sapphire-blue eyes, the same elfish ears, almost the same hair color, and a similar face. They even have nearly the same hair style. A person could easily mistake them to be brothers if not twins. The only differences were the young man was slightly taller, appears to be about a year older than Kino, and Kino's eyes and hair are a touch darker.

The young man wore a green tunic, with a long, floppy, matching hat, and carried a one-handed sword with a metal shield on his back. He also appeared to have gone through many battles and traveled far by the moderately worn look of his clothes.

They both stared at each other for several moments before Kino spoke.

"Uh…hi, I'm Kinolin, but people just call me Kino," Kino introduced himself, nervously, and extended his left hand.

"I'm Link." Link lifted his left hand and they both shook hands.

Kino was a bit shaky. He wasn't used to meeting new people. Link then took notice of Kino's claymore.

"You're a swordsman too, I assume," Link said, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Oh, not really, I don't know how to use swords. I'm just carrying it around with me for the time being," Kino explained.

"You'll learn how to use it soon enough," Link said. "I have to get going. I have important business to take care of."

"Alright," replied Kino, and Link disappeared into the crowds.

Kino spent the rest of the morning in the northern section of the town, where it is much more peaceful, and thought about how he met someone who looks so much like him. Maybe it's just a coincidence. He quickly got bored, thought about trying his sword, and decided to head home. He left a note to his parents saying he will be at the Great Bay for the afternoon. Kino frequently went to the there to relax and collect his thoughts, but this time, he is there to learn swordsmanship. He packed a quick lunch, grabbed a basic swords technique book out of his father's study, and left for the Great Bay.


	3. Chapter 2: The Great Bay

**Chapter 2: The Great Bay**

When Kino arrived at the shores of the Great Bay, it was just past noon. There were only a few light clouds in the sky, and wind was breezy. The gentle waves were rolling on the beach, and the birds were chirping a lovely tune. Kino sat down on the beach staring out into the horizon, admiring the sea.

Kino ate his lunch on a somewhat round rock with a flat top, and then spent several minutes glancing through the basic swords technique book. After reading several pages, he stepped off the rock, did his warm-ups, and unsheathed his claymore. He gripped it, gave it a few easy swings, took a deep breath, and began to practice.

A couple hours later, Kino began to go sore. He went back on top of the flat rock to lie down and take a break. He didn't do badly for a first-day swordsman. His vertical slash felt really good, but his horizontal one needed him to work a bit on his balance, and he still needed to work on blocking. Overall, he did surprisingly well.

_Never really thought I would actually be good at something,_ Kino thought.

He took a sigh, and closed his eyes. He listened to the waves rolling in and the soft sounds of his surroundings. He felt the light, gentle breeze, and the warm sunlight, and then drifted asleep.

___________________________________________________

_Kino found himself standing in a cold, dark room. He looked around, and found the room pitch black, except for a large open window in front of him. He slowly walked over to the window, shivering. Outside the window was a full, intensely bright moon, rising from the deep horizon. Kino looked at it, beginning to feel slightly light-headed. Then, someone, or something, grabbed his left shoulder. Kino wheeled around, but before he could do anything, two hands grabbed him at the throat, and lifted him up. He started choking, and struggled to get free. As the pressure on his neck mounted, he desperately tried to open his eyes to see who was holding him, but he couldn't see anything…_

___________________________________________________

Kino suddenly found himself awake and bolted upright. His heart was racing, and he quickly looked around and found that he was back on the beach, on the flat rock where he rested. Kino closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, attempting to calm himself down.

_Really bad dream. Hopefully it's just nothing,_ Kino thought, still breathing somewhat heavily.

"You ok?"

Kino looked to the left and found Link standing next to him.

"Yeah, I…I think so. It's just a bad dream, I'll be fine," Kino said shakily.

"You looked like you were being suffocated or something, you sure?" Link asked.

Kino nodded.

Link took a seat next to Kino, picked up the basic sword techniques book, and flipped through the pages. Kino managed to calm himself after a few moments yet the effects of the shock from the dream were still lingering.

"So, you have been practicing a few things," Link said with a smile.

"Yeah, I think I did pretty well. It's just basic swords stuff. I bet most people can learn that stuff easy," Kino replied.

"How about you show me what you know so far and maybe I'll teach you a few new things," Link offered. Kino accepted.

For the next hour, Link taught Kino the basics of sword combat. Even though Link had no experience with a claymore, he taught Kino a few things to look out for in the middle of a fight. At the end of the hour, they ended up getting side-tracked.

"So, exactly how did a guy like you know all of this?" Kino asked. "I've never seen a swordsman of your skill and experience before."

"Long story, but I can tell you everything from the beginning if you want," Link answered.

Kino nodded, and Link spent the next half hour explaining his life, how he got his start as a swordsman, how he got chosen to save Hyrule, and why he came to Termina. "I'm on business for the Royal Family to explore the lands west of Hyrule and make peace with leaders if any," Link explained.

"So, you spent 17 years as a ranch guy in a village called Ordon Village, and then ended up on an adventure to save Hyrule?" Kino asked.

Link nodded.

"Sounds like a dream adventure right there," Kino said with a touch of jealousy. Then he suddenly remembered the massive "Twilight" wall from months ago. Was Link involved with that?

"Haha, yeah," Link chuckled. "What about you?"

"Well, I've spent my entire life in Termina so far. I don't have anything much worth noting, so I don't have much to say, really," Kino answered. "Most I can say is I'm just an average person."

Sunset began to roll in, with the familiar colors of dusk falling on the sky, the area around them growing dimmer. Link and Kino looked up in the sky and noticed a particularly bright star overhead. It shined with a magnificent beauty.

"You know, that star reminds of the time when I found this amazing sphere laying on this beach. It was the size of a small ball, perfectly round, slightly pink, and it had an amazing shine to it. I bet it would be worth more than a house. Yet, I somehow had this feeling that someone will be greedy enough to end up hurting whoever had it, so I threw it back out to the sea, hoping nobody would ever find it again." Kino told Link.

"I have to head back to Clock Town now. Otherwise, my mom will start getting worried about me being gone for too long and when it's dark outside," Kino said.

They both got up and headed back east to Clock Town.

**Clock Town**

Clock Town was somewhat empty, but there are still some people doing their usual activities. The torches have been lit, dimly lighting up the town. The clock tower said it's 7 in the evening.

Linked slowed his walking pace and asked, "Would you like to travel to Hyrule?"

The question came up unexpectedly to Kino. He always dreamed about heading off on some big adventure, but never outside of Termina. He never knew what was outside of Termina.

"I don't know. I'm not sure if I can handle it. My parents probably aren't going to let me go that far away from home," Kino answered.

"They'll let you. You got a sword on your back," Link stated.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they'll randomly let me out into the unknown wilderness," Kino replied.

Link stopped walking and his eyes caught a shop down just down the street from where he and Kino were standing. "What's that shop down there?" Link pointed.

"That's not a shop. It's just the Milk Bar. They moved from the old place just a few weeks ago." Kino answered.

"Not that one, the one that's two buildings to the right of it."

"Oh, that's just the Happy Masks Shop. They just sell masks for our Carnival of Time festival that we do every year. Why?" Kino asked.

Link seemed very interested, and walked over the shop window. Kino followed. Link looked at a particular item and just stared at it.

"Uh, Link, are you ok?" Kino turned to look at what Link was staring at and Kino's eyes widened. Just past the glass was a mask with red marks around the eyes, a blue V-mark on the forehead, and white hair. The mask was strangely shaped like Link's face, but somehow, just looking at it sent chills down their spines.

"Can I help you?"

Both Kino and Link were still staring at the mask.

"Ahem. Can I help you!?" the voice yelled.

Kino jumped and Link broke out of his trance. "Oh, I'm very sorry. Just couldn't stop staring. So, uh, I assume you're the one in charge of the shop right?" Kino asked.

"Yes I am," the old man smiled.

"Great, so…"

"Do you know anything about this mask right there?" Link interrupted, pointed at the mask he earlier stared at.

"Not much. All I know is it's called the Fierce Deity mask. Guess the name pretty much describes what the mask looks like. I found it on the steps of my front door 17 years ago and kept it on a shelf in the storage for a while before I decided to put it up by the window," the man explained. "Probably doesn't make any sense but that's how it happened."

Link and Kino looked at each other. Kino gestured to Link that they should probably get the mask.

"Is there by any chance you two are brothers?" the man asked.

"Oh, no. We're just friends," Kino explained.

"Really? You two look a lot like each other," the man laughed.

"How much is it for the mask?" Link asked.

"Well, I never really thought about selling it. I just put it there for display you know. But since you boys seem so interested, I'll give it to you guys for free," the man said happily. "Don't worry, I found it and kept it without paying a penny so I don't mind giving it way."

Kino and Link looked at each other, and Kino smiled and shrugged.

"Ok, we'll take it," Kino said.

The man went back into the shop, took the mask from the display, went back out, and handed it to Link. Link took a good look at it, and then put it in his pouch.

"Uh Link, I need to get going before my mom starts getting worried," Kino reminded.

"We must be going now, thanks," Link said to the man.

When they arrived at Kino's house, the clock read 7:20.

"Well, we made it, just," Kino remarked. "You can come inside. My parents don't mind guests as long as they are friends."

Kino and Link stepped inside. Kino heard his parents talking happily in the kitchen. When Kino and Link entered the kitchen, Kino's parents stopped talking, and looked over.

"Mom, Dad, this is my friend Link. I just met him today," Kino said.

Kino's father stood up and shook hands with Link. "Nice to meet you and uh…" Kino's father looked from Link's face to Kino's. "Well, I don't need to say it. I bet you already heard it a thousand times already." He smiled. "Please, have a seat."

"Tell us a bit about yourself, Link," Kino's mother said. The next few minutes went on with introductions and short stories.

"Um…Mom, Dad, may I ask you guys something?" Kino asked, nervously.

"Sure," Kino's mother replied.

"Can I go on an adventure to Hyrule with Link?" Kino asked with a rather loud voice. Kino was also slightly sweating, anxious to know what his parents' reply will be. Kino's parents looked at each other with a smile for a few moments, and then answered.

"Yes, you may," His father replied.

"Really?" Kino looked up.

Kino's father nodded. "We think you are now responsible and mature enough to look after yourself."

"Thanks." Kino became too excited to say anything more. Link and Kino's father began having a conversation when Kino's mother turned over to Kino.

"Kino, may I have a private word with you," His mother asked.

Kino nodded and followed his mother out of the kitchen into the hallway.

"So, how do you feel?" His mother smiled.

"Very excited, I guess," Kino answered, smiling back.

"There is something I should tell you, that your father and I have never told you before." Her tone got serious, and her smile disappeared.

"What is it?" Kino's smile disappeared also.

She took a sigh with her head down, looked back up, and answered. "We aren't your real parents."

Kino remained silent for a moment. "What?" Kino managed whisper.

"We adopted you," His mother continued. "We found you on our doorstep 17 years ago with a letter asking that we raise you with care…like real parents. Even though you aren't actually our son, we raised you like one."

She pulled out an envelope. "This is the letter right here." She opened it, pulled out the letter, and handed it to Kino. Kino slowly read it over. It was pretty much what his foster mother had told him, except the last paragraph.

"When the child is of age, tell him if he wishes to know more about his past, he will travel to Hyrule." The letter was left unsigned.

Kino slowly folded the letter, looked up at his foster mother, and they hugged each other.

"Don't worry. We will always be right behind you." Her kind, warm-hearted smile returned. Kino nodded and smiled back.

The household ate a somewhat large dinner and when they finished, Link followed Kino down the hallway to the guest's room.

As Kino and Link headed down the hallway, Link commented, "You got some amazing parents."

"Yeah, I know," Kino replied.

As they reached towards the end of the hallway, Cannon poked his head out of his room. "So, Kino, who's your new friend?"

"His name's Link. And if you please excuse me, I need to get ready for a big adventure tomorrow," Kino said. As Kino and Link walked by Cannon, Kino grinned. _He's going to be so jealous._

They arrived at the bedroom door. "So…this is the guest bedroom," Kino presented.

"What's with that attitude to your brother?" Link asked, with a slight touch of humor.

"He's just sometimes annoying. He thinks he's a hot-shot with all the swords and bow stuff that he brags about every week. Live here long enough and you'll get used to it," Kino answered. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Kino spent the rest of the evening in his room preparing to leave the next morning, packing essentials and a few personal items. When the packing was completed, Kino lied on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"…_If he wishes to know more about his past, he will travel to Hyrule,"_ Kino thought. _Hm…now I'm getting really curious._

Kino turned over on his bed, extinguished the last candle, and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 3: Termina Field

**Chapter 3: Termina Field**

Morning arrived, and with the sun just past sunrise, Link and Kino were outside the walls of Clock Town, ready to head off eastbound. Kino was traveling somewhat lightly. He had enough to go on for a few days, but most of the stuff he was going to carry was handed to Link, since Link said he had a horse waiting for him somewhere. The only thing Kino was carrying was his claymore. Link pulled out a white charm shaped like a horseshoe, and played a tune on it. It echoed a bit before a brown horse galloped up to Link. Link walked up to the horse and turned to Kino.

"Her name is Epona," said Link, smiling. "We've been friends for a very long time."

"Yeah, so uh…" Kino looked around. "Looks like I'm walking the whole way then."

"You don't mind, do you?" asked Link, as he climbed onto Epona.

"Nah, it's just I'm not used to walking long distances," Kino answered.

For the next few hours, the journey east was mostly eventless. The weather was fair. The sky was covered with bits of clouds, and a light wind made the air slightly cool. Link and Kino took breaks every now and then before continuing so Kino to rest his increasingly sore legs. As one of their breaks ended, Kino began to feel rather uneasy.

"Link, I think somebody might be following us," Kino whispered.

Link looked down at Kino, his face becoming slightly serious. They stopped moving and listened for any noises. They didn't hear anything except natural surroundings.

"Best if we stay alert, watch your back," Link whispered back, and they continued on.

As they walked on, Kino increasingly became certain that they were being watched. He swore he could've heard something moving through the air behind them, but every time Kino turned around to look, there was nothing there. Kino's heart steadily beats faster with every minute.

"Wait, I think I saw something," Kino said suddenly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move behind a boulder.

"I better check with you," Link insisted, getting off Epona.

"No, don't worry, it's probably nothing." Or so Kino hoped.

Kino walked cautiously towards the rock, getting rather nervous. He went around the rock and before he could see who or what it was, a tentacle shot out at him and slammed him against a nearby tree. Kino gave a painful grunt before sliding down the tree. _Ouch,_ Kino thought. He tried to stand up, but the massive pain kept him sitting against the tree.

Kino opened his eyes and saw Link, with his sword drawn. He was against a large, floating, interestingly colored, though creepy mask. Kino knew what it was. It was Majora's mask. He read about it in a legend, how Majora attempted to destroy Termina by send the moon down, and yet failed. Interestingly enough, it was a little boy who stopped Majora.

Kino tried again to get up, but the pain still kept him against the tree. All he could do now is watch Link go against the mask. Kino watched as the mask shot tentacles at Link, but Link would dodge them or block with his shield. Whenever Link tried to attack the mask, nothing would happen, and the attack would recoil. Using bow and arrows didn't work either, as they would just "phase" right through. Apparently, conventional weapons don't work. Several moments went on until Majora simply got irritated and shot all its tentacles. Link dodged a few of them, but one caught him and slammed him against the boulder. A few rupees and the Deity mask fell out of Link's loosened pouch.

To Kino's surprise, Link managed to get up, but to Link's own surprise, Majora disappeared. Link looked around, slightly confused, and ran over to Kino.

"You alright?" Link asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Kino answered, managing to slowly get up. "I think we better move. I'm sure it'll be back."

Before Kino could try to get up again, a tentacle flew past Kino from behind, came within inches of his ear, slammed Link in the chest, and Link went airborne. _Ah, geez…_ Kino thought. Link landed with a thud on the ground several yards away from Kino. Kino looked around, but saw nothing. He quickly ran over to Link to try and get him up, but before he got there, something slammed the back of his head. He fell to the ground on his face, and passed out…

Kino woke up, noticing that quite a bit of time had gone by. He suddenly lifted his head to look around him, aware Majora might strike again. Instead, he found the landscape to be quite different. Earlier there was a nice group of trees to the west, now there's a massive ravine going through them. What were boulders earlier was now reduced to rocks and pebbles. There was a small hill to the south, but now it's flattened with no vegetation on it.

"What the…what the hell happened?" Kino asked to himself. Kino slowly got up and suddenly winced. The back of his head still hurts with the pain equivalent of a large popped blister on your foot, while walking. Kino managed to stand, with some dizziness, and found Link unconscious back side up on the ground. Kino slowly limped over.

"Come on, get up," Kino shook Link.

Link slowly opened his eyes, and slowly got up. He appeared to be massively exhausted and traumatized. Link slowly looked around, and was surprised.

"What happened here?" Link asked, astonished.

"That was what I was about to ask you," Kino answered.

"All I know is after I got knocked on the ground, I managed to get up, but found you unconscious. Next thing I knew, I blacked out right there," Link said. "But this field definitely did not look like this when I passed out."

"That was it? You just…blacked out?" Kino asked.

Link nodded. "You okay, you're wincing a bit," Link noted.

"Oh yeah, bad bruise from the back of my head," Kino explained. He looked around and noticed something was missing. "I think Epona got scared off."

"It's fine, I can call her back," Link said. He pulled out his white horseshoe charm and blew the same tune that he blew hours earlier. Within a few moments, Epona galloped up to Link. Link slowly got up, slightly off balance, but managed to stand.

"You get on Epona. It's not good for you to be walking with your injuries," Link insisted.

Kino slowly got on Epona, while Link guided her. They continued eastbound across the open field, and soon enough came across an interesting tavern. In the distance was a very think forest. As they entered the tavern, it was mostly empty, save for a slightly chubby bartender. It seemed rather strange to find a bar almost in the middle of nowhere.

"Hiya, what can I get cha?" he asked gleefully.

"You have any ice and a bag to hold it. We got a head injury," Link requested.

"Sure, got loads a' ice 'ere." The bar pulled a small bag and filled it with some ice. Kino took it and had the ice sooth the bruise on the back of his head. Almost immediately he felt some relief.

"Anythang else I can get you boys?"

"Uh…two glasses of root beer should be fine," Link answered. The bartender went over to the side to get two glasses and began filling.

"You get much business here?" Kino asked.

"Iz alrigh'. Tourism committee offered me thee job since they gut many travlurs t'rough tis area of the field," the bartender said, sliding the glasses down to Link and Kino.

As Link and Kino sat at a table consuming their drink, Link looked up at Kino.

"We are going to go through the Sacred Grove next. The important thing you have to remember is the forest is very large, very tall, and very think. You can get lost in there very easily. You will need to stay close to me and not wonder off," Link explained.

"Alright," Kino acknowledged.

They tipped the bartender and headed outside. Within a few minutes of traveling further eastbound, they reached the outskirts of a massive, thick forest; the entrance to the Sacred Grove.


	5. Chapter 4: The Sacred Grove

**Chapter 4: The Sacred Grove**

The sun began to set, and the familiar colors of dusk lay on Termina Field. The air began to feel cooler, and Kino watched as the sun spent its last few seconds shining for the day.

As Link and Kino entered the Sacred Grove, the openness of the field soon became a thick and a bit disorientating forest. The trees were very tall, with the branches and leaves up high, near the top. Small waterfalls and creeks can be heard, along with birds chirping, and a slight breeze making the leaves rustle from above. The forest was also in a life-rich green tone along with the faint colors of dusk, and the overall mood was very relaxing.

"It's getting dark, we should camp here for the night," Link said.

They stopped at a very shallow pond, and started a small fire for the night. Link went over to Epona to care for her while Kino went over by the shallow pond and sat down. Sitting brought much relieve to his legs. So much, it hurts. He looked up and noticed that even with a pitch black sky, the forest was still somewhat lit, and now has a darker blue-green tone. He looked over at the small waterfall feeding the pond, and it was a very relaxing sight. The evening went on without any particular interest, other than the remarkable scenery.

Kino woke up the next day during the later stages of dawn, slowly getting out of his bedroll. Kino rolled it up, carefully did his morning stretches, and extinguished the small campfire. He looked over and found Link sleeping in a bedroll in a small tent, with his hat off beside him. Kino sat back by the pond, and went through some thoughts. Several minutes later, Link woke up, went through his rather long list of stretches, got his hat back on, packed up, and went over to Kino.

"You ready to go?" Link asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

Link and Kino went on through the thick forest for what seemed like another hour before they came across some ancient marble stone lying on the ground. In front of Link and Kino, there were what seem to be ruins.

"Are those ruins right there?" Kino asked curiously.

"Yeah, those are ruins," Link answered. "Let's head in there."

Once they got to the ruins, Kino jumped down a ledge and saw an interesting statue standing in front of what seems to be a door. Kino thought it might be an entry door to the inside of the ruins when it was still standing. Kino walked on, jumping down another ledge, and entered a clearing. At the middle was a yellow triangle, with three triangles in it. Plus, there were two of the same statues as the one Kino saw earlier, except they were larger, and were on both sides of another entry. Link got off Epona at the top of the first ledge, and caught up with Kino.

"Follow me, there is something I want to show you," Link said.

Kino followed Link past the two statues, through the arch, up some stairs, and entered a large circular clearing. The area was very lush, and the rays of sunlight can be seen breaking through the trees. Ahead of them was a platform, and on the center of the platform was a pedestal, and in the pedestal was a sword.

"Come on." Link dragged Kino up to the sword.

The sword was very interesting to say the least. Kino couldn't describe it well. The best description he could think of was it was one-handed, had a very sharp and neat blade, along with a very fancy purple-and-black hilt with a yellow gem embedded in it.

"This…is the Master Sword," Link said, looking over to Kino, with a big smile.

"You're serious right?" Kino asked.

"Yes I am," Link replied back.

Kino stared at it. He heard much about a "Blade of Evil's Bane" in legends and supposedly myths, but never thought it would actually exist.

"You want to try and pull it out?" Link asked.

"What?" The question caught Kino slightly off guard.

"You want to try it?"

"…Alright," Kino replied, although he doubt it will work.

Kino went to the front of the Master Sword, gripped both hands on the hilt, took a deep breath, and tried to lift the sword upwards. It wouldn't budge. He tried harder. It still wouldn't move. Slightly disappointed, he looked back to Link.

"I was quite certain it wouldn't work anyways," Kino said sadly.

"It's worth a try though," Link said.

"Yeah…"

As Link and Kino walked down the steps away from the sword, Kino asked, "These are the ruins of the Temple of Time, aren't they?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" Link asked.

"There was a time when I was younger and ended up being obsessed in old legends and stuff," Kino replied with a small chuckle. "I think I was too much of a nerd for my own age back then."

Once they climbed back up the ledges, and Link got back on Epona, they started moving through the forest. There was now actually "path" to follow instead of just trees scattered every six feet, and the forest felt more open. The major problem with the "paths" was it was just as disorientating. There was a left route and a right route, and after that, more splits. If you happen to pick the wrong way each time, you might as well be traveling in circles and never get out. To top it all off, a map was never created for the place. The other interesting part is this side of the forest actually had torches, which was rather strange.

Soon enough, Link and Kino came to a tunnel, and they went in.

**Faron Woods**

Once on the other side of the tunnel, the scenery was different. It was still a forest, but less dense, and not as interesting. It was more of a warmer, brighter, and average forest. Ahead of them was a wooden bridge, which spans across what seems to be an abyss.

"It used to be that you had to jump platform to platform, needed a golden chicken, and to make things harder, there were constantly swinging logs held by ropes that you had to jump past, and not get hit," Link explained.

"Swinging logs?" Kino gave an awkward look.

"Yeah, some things don't make sense in this world. But those logs were eventually cut down. Now, we have a bridge to get from the Sacred Grove to Faron Woods much more easily. Though, I don't think people would want to head into the Sacred Grove anyways since there isn't anything much of particular interest," Link said.

They crossed the bridge, which bent right, and they came back on solid ground. To the left was a path to a gigantic tree stump, which was surrounded by monumental other trees. To the right was more of a typical forest, and interestingly enough, there was an outdoor shop…managed by a bird.

"Yoo hoo, buy something, anything please!" the awkward bird hollered.

"Shut up…" Link mumbled as he and Kino walked by.

They were now heading southbound. It suddenly became foggy, and they soon came across a strange sight.

"Wait…is this purple fog?" Kino asked.

"Yep," Link answered. "We will need the lantern for this one. Helps keep the fog away. Otherwise you pass out if you go in it. Here, you hold it. I can't hold it this high and keep the fog away." Link handed the Kino the lit lantern. Epona snorted as Kino slowly lead the way clearing the purple fog.

They continued through the strange, thick, purple fog, with Link guiding the way with his lantern. After several minutes, they made it across the large open area and came across a tunnel, which was as black as a starless, moonless night.

"This cave is very dark," Link said cautiously. The cave was indeed quite dark, and this scared Kino a little bit. Mice and bats could be heard too, and this didn't really help Kino feel any better. Kino was so overly alert that a single mice squeak was enough for Kino to suddenly unsheathe his claymore, spin around, and slice a jumping mouse right across the throat. The mouse fell, and exploded. _Mice exploded here?_ Kino thought. Link looked over his shoulder.

"Uh…my bad," Kino said apologetically.

When Link and Kino exited the tunnel, there was a split on the path. The left path, as far as Kino can see, led to a rundown house, with an afro guy sitting on a rock, watching a fire. Link and Kino headed right, under an overpass, and were soon at a spring. The wide spring had low waterfalls, a large pond area, and fairies floating around. There was a cool breeze blowing against them, and Kino sat down by the water. Link got off Epona and sat by Kino. Epona slowly went over to the water to have a drink.

"You know anything about this spring?" Link asked.

"No, I don't," Kino replied.

"This spring belongs to a Spirit of Light. The spirit's name is Faron. This forest was named after it," Link told Kino.

"A spirit of light?"

Link nodded. "The Spirits of Light watch and guard the land of Hyrule that the goddesses created."

Kino was quiet for a bit.

"Link, what was that triangle that was in the center of the ruins of the Temple of Time?"

"That's the symbol of the Triforce. After Hyrule was created, the goddesses departed, and the Triforce was left in their wake. It holds some of their power, and the Triforce's power can make mortal dreams come true," Link explained.

"Where is it?" Kino asked.

Link sighed. "It…doesn't exist as a whole anymore. Legend has it that it was broken up into three pieces a long time ago. The pieces were scattered ever since."

They sat by the spring for several more quiet minutes before moving on. The trip through the rest of the forest was mostly eventless. As they continued south, they exited the woods, and crossed a wide, wooden, roped-hung bridge, which thankfully isn't one of the kinds that are in terribly bad condition and would snap the moment you managed to get half way across. As they walked back into some wooded area, there was a spring of the Spirit of Light Ordona to the right. Within a few moments, they arrived at the outskirts of a small village.

* * *

A/N: As far as orientation goes, it will be on the GameCube version of Twilight Princess, which is the "true" version of TP. Wii version had the mirrored world with the sun rising and setting the wrong way and other bits that don't make sense.


	6. Chapter 5: Ordon Village

A/N: Ant423: There was a Cannon in Wind Waker? I just picked some random name out of my 8th grade yearbook. Haha. No, he's not related to the WW Cannon.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Ordon Village**

As Kino entered the village, it was still a wooded area, except it was now evident they are not just in a forest. To the left was a ladder up to a house which was built into the tree. Ahead was a "scarecrow" dummy used for training. There were also red bull's-eye targets up in the trees for bow shot practices. On the right side was the path to the main village.

"This is Ordon Village, or at least a section of it. This village is my hometown," Link said, then pointed over to the house. "That's my house right there."

They went down the path to the main village. When they arrived, it clearly wasn't the crowded Clock Town that Kino was used to. Everything was easier to look at, more peaceful, and the village had a much more open feel. There was plenty of lush, peaceful scenery to look at. There was a waterwheel, a few buildings, a few small pumpkin growing areas, and a creek running through the middle of the village.

Kino walked forward a few steps, but before he could walk very far, he was tackled down by three children, and was instantly bombarded with questions.

"Hey Link! Where have you been?"

"And why aren't you wearing your green clothes?"

"Where did you get the big sword?"

"He looks a bit different too."

"You're right! How did your hair get a bit darker?"

"And how did your eyes get darker also?"

"You don't seem as strong and amazing as I last saw you."

"Yeah, and you still need owe me sword lessons!"

Kino was beginning to panic a bit and looked over at Look. "Help," he mouthed.

"Alright guys, that's enough," Link said, getting off Epona and walking over.

The two boys and the girl looked at Link, and then back at Kino, becoming confused. Link stood by Kino as Kino got up and Link introduced him.

"This is Kino. I met him while traveling to Termina," Link said.

"Where's Termina?" asked the girl.

"Really far away from here," Link answered.

"Are you two bothers?" asked the girl.

"No, we're just friends," Kino replied.

"Long lost twins?"

"I don't know, we just met a few days ago," Kino explained.

"Kino, this is Malo, Talo, and Beth," Link introduced. Malo was the shortest and youngest one, though he appears to be quite intelligent for his age. Talo, who is a few years older than Malo, was the jumpy one, and had a look of a troublemaker. Beth was the blonde young girl about Talo's age.

"Kino, Malo, Talo. Those names end with the same sound," Talo remarked. "What's your real name, if Kino is your short name?"

"My full name is Kinolin," Kino said.

"What kind of name is Kinolin?" Malo asked. "Don't you ever get made fun of with a name like that?"

"Well, not really. If you ask me, I find the name rather unique, so I don't mind," Kino answered.

"Kino and I are going to meet with the rest of the village. You little guys better go play now," Link said, pushing them along.

Kino looked in the direction of the stream running through the village and noticed a young boy with blonde hair sitting by the creek with his father. The child had a small sword and wooden shield on his back, kind of like how Link carries his sword and shield. The father noticed Link and Kino walking over and stood up to great them.

"So, who is your new friend here?" the man asked Link, shaking hands with Kino.

"This is Kinolin, but prefers to be called Kino. He is from Termina, a land far to the west of Hyrule" Link said. "Kino, this is Colin, and this is his dad, Rusl."

Kino noticed that Colin was shyly standing somewhat behind his father, with a small smile.

"How's it going?" Kino asked Colin.

"I was just learning a few things from my dad," Colin replied, a bit less shy. "I want to be brave and strong like Link when I get older."

"That's a pretty good goal. I think you'll get there," Kino said with a smile.

For the next half-hour, Kino met parents, the rancher of the village ranch Fado, and the town mayor Bo. They were pretty good natured people, even though there were some awkward moments. As Link and Kino left the mayor's house, Link began to wander.

"I wonder where she is right now," Link said quietly to himself.

"Who?" Kino asked.

"Ilia. She is a very close friend of mine and is the daughter of the mayor of this village. She's very fond of nature and Epona," Link said.

Kino looked ahead and noticed a girl grooming Epona near the path up to Link's house.

"Is that her right over there?" Kino asked.

Link nodded and they both walked over.

Ilia was busy brushing Epona when Link and Kino came up to her. She stopped brushing and looked at Link with a gentle smile. Link and Ilia hugged each other for a few moments.

"Ilia, I want you to meet a friend that I recently met on my travels. His name is Kino and he is from a land far west from here," Link told her.

Kino gave a weak smile and wave.

"I think he's cuter than you, Link," Ilia giggled.

Kino and Link looked at each other.

"I'm just joking. It's nice to meet someone new though. Where are you going now?" Ilia asked.

"To my house," Link answered. "Kino needs a place to stay for a bit."

"It's nice meeting you, Kino," Ilia said with a warm smile.

Kino smiled back, gave a nod, and went to Link's house. The interior of the house was quite large compared to the other houses in Ordon Village. It was tall, had more floors, and a basement. The house was very well lit with rays of sunlight breaking though the ceiling. While Link was unpacking, Kino toured the house. He climbed up a ladder to the second floor and came across an interesting small box case on a table. Kino opened it and found a small, diamond-shaped black stone with orange marks on it.

"Hey Link! What's this small black stone with orange marks on it for?" Kino yelled.

"Oh that? Don't touch it. It's quite dangerous," Link answered back from downstairs.

Kino shrugged and placed the case back on the table and continued to take a short tour around the house. When he was finished, he went down the ladder to the basement. The basement was pitch-black, but Link soon went down the ladder with a lit lantern. The area had been recently dusted and set up to be more of a second bedroom. There was a proper bed, wardrobe, mirror, and other bits. Still, being a basement, it had the usual storage boxes on the large shelves on two sides of the room.

"Sorry that you have to go down here," Link said. "It's the closest thing I have to a second bedroom."

"It's okay, I don't mind," Kino said.

Sunset came quickly, and Kino spent the evening with the villagers telling them about what Termina was like and all the other bits. The older people were quite amazed there was even a town far west of the thick woods, the unbearable heat of the desert, and the jagged high peaks that borders Hyrule's west boundaries. As the dark night rolled in, Kino went back to Link's house, and rested his sore body on his basement bed.

Morning came, but being in the dark basement, Kino had to climb up the ladder and see what time of day it was. He climbed up to the top floor of the house, where Link was sleeping on his bed. There was a window, and Kino looked outside. It was just a few minutes before sunrise and the air was slightly cool.

Kino was about to head down the ladder when he caught sight of something on Link's nightstand beside his bed. It was the Fierce Deity Mask that they had received back in Clock Town. Kino slowly walked over, picked up the mask.

"Kino, what are you doing?"

Kino jumped and looked over at Link. Link was lying on his side looking at Kino.

"Oh, uh, just looking at this thing," Kino answered.

Link slowly sat up and somewhat rudely took the mask from Kino.

"Sorry," Kino apologized.

"It's fine," Link said.

Link and Kino went to Ordon Ranch for the morning, where Link gave Kino a short lesson on how to round up goats…on foot. It was slow, cumbersome, and exhausting. Then Kino watched with boredom how Link rounds up goats with Epona. Fado gave his thanks to both of them even though Kino didn't really do anything effective. The day dragged on without much happening. Kino laid down by the creek and stayed there for the rest of the morning. When afternoon came by, he noticed Link talking to Ilia. Link also had Epona with him, and this made Kino wonder where he was going.

"…but Link, you are always leaving ever since what happened several months ago," Ilia said sadly.

"I know, but the princess has promised me that this is the last thing I need to do," Link said.

"…Okay, but promise me you will come back."

"I promise." Link then caught sight of Kino walking over.

"So where are you going this time?" Kino asked.

"Hyrule Castle. The princess has one last thing for me to do before I can finally come back here and relax," Link answered.

"Is there anything that you don't want me to do in your house?"

Link thought for a moment. "Don't touch that black stone you found yesterday, and keep the place in good order. That's all."

Kino, Ilia, and the villagers said their farewells to Link as he went off on yet another trip. The rest of the day was rather dull, with the exception of the kids playing the occasional joke on him. Rusl offered Kino some sword lessons during the late afternoon, while Colin watched them.

As night came by, Kino spent the time reading through the books that Link had throughout his house. There were some books that taught Kino the history of Hyrule, and a few with legends in it. There were also interesting fiction books like Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, which (at the bare bones) is a story about a mad king who started a war, and a knight that killed the protagonist's father. The protagonist goes off to defeat the knight and the mad king. Kino read late into the night, but then had enough, and went to bed.

_Three weeks later…_

"Okay, now to block with no shield and just a sword, position the sword like this."

Kino was giving lessons to Talo, who was learning with a wooden stick. Kino had found himself doing what Link had done before the "Twilight" crisis occurred. He was a ranch hand (though he didn't have a horse), helped villagers here and there, learned a many things from Rusl, and made friends with Ilia and Colin. He was the more knowledgeable and weaker "Link" of the village, and notably the less courageous.

"No, if you do that, your enemy is gonna chop your shoulder off," Kino demonstrated. "Hold it like that, there you go. Okay, that's good enough. I'll probably teach you something else in two days."

"Why not tomorrow?" Talo complained.

"If we push you too hard, you'll hurt yourself," Kino explained.

"Oh, alright." Talo walked away slightly disappointed.

"Hey! Where are my thanks?" Kino shouted.

Talo stopped and looked over at Kino. "Thanks a lot!" He ran back into the village.

Kino smiled and shook his head. He sat down by the ladder to Link's house, with his claymore beside him. His eyelids soon became heavy and within moments he fell asleep.

* * *

_He stood in a cold, dimly-lit room. The room somehow felt familiar, and Kino walked around. The room was completely empty, not a single thing there except himself. He slowly paced the room, but suddenly stopped, his eyes wide open. A great pain was coming from his chest, and he collapsed on to the floor. The pain was not that of an injury, but a one of emptiness. Kino's breathing soon became very shallow. Next thing he knew, his voice stopped…_

_

* * *

_Kino suddenly woke up to the sound of screaming. He quickly jumped onto his feet and picked up his claymore. Immediately he saw Ilia running from the direction of the forest, and chasing her was something out of this world.

"What the heck is that?" Kino asked to himself.

He didn't have time to think. He ran in between Ilia and the creature and blocked the creature's attack. The creature wasn't an animal, but it wasn't human either. It had a humanoid body but the arms and head are larger than the rest of the body. The body was mostly dark gray with black and red marks. The head was more like a small shield, with "hair" on top and below it.

The creature repeatedly threw its arms at Kino, and Kino tried his best to block them. One of them caught him hard and he slammed onto the ground. The creature lunged at him, but Kino barely managed to roll out of the way and quickly got up. He lifted his claymore and with a cry swung it at the creature. The claymore caught the creature on the side and slammed it against a wall. The creature fell down, and "exploded" into black pixels, which soon disappeared.

Kino ran over to Ilia, who was hiding behind a tree.

"You okay?" Kino asked, breathing slightly heavily.

Ilia gave a weak nod.

"Come on, we need to tell the others in case more are on the way," Kino said urgently.

Ilia went to alert her father while Kino ran over to Rusl.

"Rusl, we have a big problem. There was a strange creature chasing Ilia. I killed it, but I think there might be more on the way," Kino said.

Rusl paused a bit. "What did it look like?" Rusl finally asked.

"Well, it had a dark gray body with many black and red markings, and a face that wasn't really a face," Kino described.

"Oh great, shadow beasts," Rusl said quietly with worry.

"Shadow what?"

"Shadow beasts. There were supposed to be gone after the Twilight crisis. Come on, let's go." Rusl grabbed his sword and they ran to Link's house.

Upon arriving, there were now two shadow beasts watching the area.

"Just great…" Kino said to himself.

"Don't be a coward now. They aren't that hard to beat if you know what to do. The important part is that we defeat them both at the same time or else last one standing will bring the other back up."

"Okay…" Kino said quietly.

They ran up to the beasts and began the fighting. Kino was doing mostly blocking with occasional attacking, and went it on for just a few moments before he heard Rusl.

"One…two…three!"

Kino lifted his claymore and slammed the beast onto the ground. He looked over and found Rusl had stuck down the other beast as well. They both disintegrated into black pixels and disappeared.

"I wonder why they haven't stolen the light from the Spirit of Light at the spring yet," Rusl noted.

"They steal what?" Kino asked.

"They steal the light from the Spirits of Light, and sent the provinces into darkness during the crisis several months ago. Didn't Link tell you about that?"

"No."

"Well, now he's going to have to tell you now that they are appearing again."

They bolted for Ordona's spring nearby. Upon arriving, they found nothing wrong. The spring was the way it was suppose to be; peaceful, with no shadow beasts in sight. They heard horse footsteps behind them and turned around. It was Link, and he got off Epona and ran over to them.

"Did you see any shadow beasts around here?" Link asked urgently.

"Yeah, we had to deal with three of them," Kino said.

"Oh crap. Kino, you need to come with me. Hyrule is in a crisis right now."

"Hyrule is in a what!?" Kino cried.

Link didn't answer. He ran over to Epona and got on.

"Wait, Link! Don't you think you need to see Ilia before you head off again?" Kino shouted.

"That's what I'm about to do," Link answered back, and headed off to the village.

Kino and Rusl quickly ran back to the village and found the villagers gathered around Link. Link was talking to Ilia, who was apparently still in a bit of a shock.

"I need you to take care of Epona for me. I can't risk her getting injured in the current disaster," Link kindly told Ilia.

Ilia nodded, wiping a tear from her face and they hugged each other. "Don't worry, I'll come back," Link reassured her.

Link then turned to address the village just as Kino and Rusl joined the group.

"Kino and I are going to head off to Hyrule Castle. I highly doubt there will be anymore shadow beasts showing up in this village, but just in case, Colin will keep an eye out and Rusl can handle them," Link explained. "Think you can handle it, Colin?"

Colin gave a nod.

"Link, we aren't going to be back here for a while, are we?" Kino asked.

"No, probably not," Link answered.

The villagers said their final farewells. As Link and Kino set off, Kino stopped and turned over to Talo.

"Hey Talo! If those things ever chase you and you have something sharp, remember what I taught you!" Kino shouted.

Talo nodded. Kino smiled and ran to catch up with Link.


	7. Chapter 6: Faron Woods

**Chapter 6: Faron Woods**

"Link, tell me what in the world is going on right now."

Kino was walking briskly trying to keep up with Link's quick pace.

"Ok, while I was having a discussion with the Princess in Hyrule Castle, a commander came up to us and reported one of his men seeing shadow beasts near the entrance of Faron Woods. Seem strange enough since they vanished completely several months ago," Link explained.

"And?"

"I asked the Princess for a few soldiers to take with me to investigate," Link continued. "We came to Faron Woods and I told them to watch the area where the afro man lives while I check on Ordon Village. Turns out the shadow beasts sighting report was true from what you told me earlier."

"Ok, so why am I coming with you then?" Kino asked.

"I think it would be better to have you come along. I have a feeling that your help is going to make a big difference," Link answered.

"What can I do then?" Kino replied. "I don't make a very good fighter."

"You do have a big sword," Link remarked. "And you seemed to have considerable skill with it while we were back in Termina, considering you don't have that much training."

"Well, yeah, I guess that's true," Kino admitted.

Kino noticed Link was carrying a different sword. "Link, you went to get the Master Sword didn't you?" Kino asked. Link stopped walking and looked at Kino with a hint of worry in his eyes.

"I got the sinking feeling we are going to need it," Link frowned. "Shadow beast sightings are enough to worry me about what happen in the near future. I'm thinking probably war…"

Kino and Link remained silent as they continued though the woods. At the split in the path, they came across a small camp. Upon arrival, a soldier wearing chainmail and bits of white armor walked up to Link and stood in typical military fashion.

"Sir, we have sightings that an army of bulblins are marching across Hyrule Field towards these woods as we speak," the soldier informed.

"An army?" asked Link, surprised.

"That doesn't clearly sound good," Kino noted. "Wait, why would a hostile army march towards here and not wherever the big castle is."

The soldier shrugged. "Beats me, but they look like they were on a specific mission, not just looking for a random fight."

"Anything else happened while I was away?" Link asked.

"No, sir. Things were mostly quiet during your absence," the soldier answered. "The rest of the group is ready. We need to act soon."

"Do you have any spare sets of armor around here?" Link inquired.

"Yes, we do have a few pieces of chainmail and boots over in the tent over there, but I'm afraid that's about it." The soldier then quickly went to the small group of soldiers for a discussion.

"Don't worry, I'll meet up with you once I'm ready," Kino told Link.

Kino went to a tent to put on his chainmail and boots. He didn't look like a soldier in the chainmail, more like a teen's pathetic attempt to look like a soldier so he and his friends can act out a battle scene in the middle of the night. He went outside and walked up to Link. Link glanced over at Kino and gave a curious look.

"Look, as long as this prevents me from getting killed, I don't really care that I look like a moron, alright?" Kino said hurriedly.

Link shrugged and had the group huddle around into a circle. "We need to move out to Hyrule Field, we can't spill blood on this peaceful forest. These are just bulblins, and all of you are pretty darn good soldiers, so I trust all of you to be able to handle yourselves and watch out for each other. Kino, you are with me since you lack experience," Link explained. "Are we clear?"

Everyone nodded firmly.

"Alright, let's move."

**South Hyrule Field**

The sun began to lay the familiar colors of sunset across the entire field. Ahead of them was a massive, wide open field, and out in the horizon, the center tower of a castle can be seen. It was very peaceful scenery, which caused confusion among the group.

"Wait, I was pretty sure I saw them approaching the spot several minutes ago," one of the soldiers explained.

"Ambush," Kino said suddenly.

A split second after Kino spoke, arrows with tips of fire began flying all around them; from behind, the side, and the front. Green, bandit-like creatures on foot then began to appear out of nowhere, and large blue birds shot out of the sky, with the group's two archers struggling to take them down. That was all Kino saw before he dived for the ground. He didn't know what was going on in all the noise. Kino quickly got on his feet and looked around. Bulblins (as the bandit-like "people" are called) were running towards him. Hastily, Kino unsheathed his claymore and did his best at blocking and striking them down. Kino managed to hold his defense, causing the Bulblins to recoil against the large blade and lose balance, allowing Kino to take them down with his heavy claymore. Kino managed to keep going for several minutes, but soon he was exhausted, with cuts and bruises across his body, limbs, and face, barely able to continue standing, and yet the battle was still going.

Kino managed to take down the last enemy attacking him at that moment. "I wonder how much more I can take before I…" Before Kino could finish his sentence, a mace came down on this head. Kino collapsed to the ground, his head throbbing with pain, his breathing heavy, his vision becoming blurred, and the sounds around him fading away before he closed his eyes...

_A few hours later…_

Kino slowly opened his eyes, his blurred vision slowly focusing. He was in a gently lit tent, laying in a bedroll, with few bandages here and there around his body, and large one wrapped around his head where he got slammed in the head. His head was still suffering some pain from the attack, similar to what happened in Termina, except with some bleeding. Kino looked around and noticed the noises of battle were gone. His chainmail and combat boots were off, replaced with his normal boots, and leaving his normal shirt on, which thankfully didn't have any blood stains.

With some pain and effort, Kino got up, walked out of the tent with some minor limping, and noticed that he was still on Hyrule Field, and was in the small group camp. He looked up into the starry night sky. The full moon was at its height, giving a somewhat intense glow. Kino stood where he was, looking at it, admiring it. He looked at it a great deal of time before a soldier came up to Kino and gave a small top on his shoulder.

"Link, sir, I thought you were asleep," the soldier said, a bit surprised.

Kino looked over to the soldier. "Sorry, I'm not Link."

"Oh, I'm very sorry," the soldier apologized. "You must be Link's friend, the one who got knocked out a few hours ago."

"Yeah, I'm feeling better," Kino said. "Did you know what happened after I was out?"

"I wasn't there when you were knocked out, but I can tell you what happened towards the end," the soldier answered.

"Alright."

"The battle went on just past sunset, and we were on the verge of going down, even though no one died yet. There were just endless enemies coming from here and there. But then the ground began to shake. Everybody assumed it was just a small earthquake. But I swear to Nayru I saw a person stand much taller than everybody else on this field. Whoever that person was, he was devastating. He killed everything hostile that came within a ten foot radius. That was all I could see before I got caught up in my own fighting. Nobody else saw what I saw but…oh man," the soldier told with some disbelief.

"Did you…did you know what that person looked like?" Kino asked hesitantly.

"No," the soldier replied. "It was getting dark outside so I couldn't see. But I'm assuming he was over seven feet tall."

Kino was silent for a moment, curious about the soldier's story, and then asked, "Do you know where Link is?"

"Yeah, he is in the tent over there. He's sleeping so don't disturb him," the soldier answered. The soldier went off to a nearby campfire and began some slightly cheerful conversations with his buddies.

Kino walked into the tent and found Link sound asleep in a bedroll, with a few candles next to him. Kino took a seat on a small chair by Link, and began to wonder through his own thoughts.

"Feeling any better?"

Kino looked over and found Link awake.

"Yeah…" Kino answered quietly.

"You sure? You don't sound like it," Link noted, sitting up.

"It's just…It's just fighting doesn't make me feel well," Kino replied. "So much was going on I didn't even know what I was actually doing anymore before I got hit."

"I saw you go down," Link said quietly. "Strange thing is I was working so hard to make sure they didn't kill you that I don't even remember what happened. All I know is, the next thing I knew, I found myself standing on Hyrule Field, with bodies of dead bulblins everywhere. It was a bit sickening, but at least the group didn't suffer a casualty.

"We are heading for Castle Town in a few hours. I will have to notify the Princess of the situation so she can get the army prepared. We will figure out our next move when we get there."

"When are we heading off?" Kino asked.

"We leave early morning, one hour before sunrise. The enemies we faced don't do well when it's dark outside," Link explained.

"Alright, see you early morning then," Kino left.

"Good night."

**Hyrule Castle Courtyard**

The time had just hit sunrise, with the light just striking the main tower of Hyrule Castle. The birds were chirping, and the light clouds slowly rolling by. Kino removed his bandages before heading into the courtyard, amazed at how fast his wounds healed. Even his head stopped hurting and was well. Link and Kino managed to avoid the morning crowds in Castle Town as they headed the courtyard. Castle Town seemed a lot like Clock Town to Kino, only much fancier, and loads more stone. As they entered the courtyard of the castle, Kino was amazed by the castle's size and height. Not only was Kino impressed with the size but also the architecture and lavish gardens.

"I was quite a bit surprised to find that Termina didn't have a castle or something large to represent your head of government," Link remarked.

"Eh, our government runs more like a city-state. We don't have the resources or men to go out there and form a kingdom. We just have a mayor and use what we call a democratic type of government," Kino explained. "Basically, it's a government run by officials elected by the citizens."

"So, no kings or royal family?" Link asked, interested.

"No, the people decide the next mayor every five years. There's no such thing as 'heirs' in that type of government," Kino replied.

As the walked up the steps to the door, past several guards, and entered the castle, Kino was even more impressed. There were many chandeliers, and balconies, along with gentle lighting and very expensive furniture. Marble was used everywhere, from the tiles on the floor to the pillars supporting the balconies. As they climbed the many stairways of the castle, there were many complete heavy knight armor sets on display, many chests, and many nicely-dressed people moving about. The castle was pure, grand luxury.

Kino quickly realized that he needed to straighten himself up since they are meeting with the highest person of Hyrule. Kino quickly rushed to a mirror and did the best he could to look better. He fixed up his messed up hair and straightened his clothes. He felt unsubstantial and not fine enough to be worth granted audience.

As Link and Kino came to the doorway to the throne room, guards were standing in the way of the entrance. As they approached the guards, one of them salutes Link.

"Sir, the Princess is waiting for you," the soldier said. "But first, how about an arm wrestle?"

"Huh?" Link was confused.

"This guy would give me 100 rupees if I could beat you in an arm wrestling match," the soldier said confidently.

"Yeah, you'll beat him alright," Kino said sarcastically.

Link grinned and raised his arm. The soldier and Link gripped hands and began. Already, Link was winning.

"Ow, sir, you don't need to grip my hand that hard," the soldier said somewhat desperately.

Link was determined, his grip apparently getting tighter, and was still going.

"Ok, ok, you win, I think…ahh…OW!!" The soldier fell down and landed on his shoulder.

Link released his grip on the soldier's hand, and carefully helped him up.

"Erm…I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your shoulder or anything," Link apologized.

"Uh…yeah, it's fine. It's a bit sore but I'll be fine," the soldier replied nervously. He moved his right arm around a bit and took a deep breath. "Much better. You may see the princess now, sorry for holding you and your friend up."

"Thanks," Link replied.

As they entered the throne room, Kino began to wonder. He had never seen Link do anything like that before. Not the arm wrestling, but the way he did it. Kino had never seen Link do anything with so much determination and strength just to win a simple game. Maybe something was bothering him lately that he wouldn't tell anybody.

Link and Kino stopped several steps in front of the steps leading up to the chair the Princess was sitting on. The Princess slowly got up, and walked down the steps. She stopped in front of Link and gave a warm smile.

The Princess wore a white and dark pink dress with matching white gloves, a crown, shoulder plates, and other pieces of royalty jewelry. She was about the same height as Link, a tad taller than Kino, had dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and pointed ears. Overall, she was very beautiful.

Kino tried hard not to look at the Princess too much, as he didn't want to cause any unintentionally bad feelings. Instead, he forced himself to look at the sculpture high up from the floor. It was a sculpture representing the Triforce, and the three goddesses that created and watch over Hyrule.

"Link," the Princess said kindly.

"Zelda."

They casually hugged each other, and Link then looked over at Kino. "Kino?"

Kino looked over.

"Kino, this is Zelda, Princess of Hyrule, and holder of the Triforce of Wisdom," Link introduced. Kino gave a nervous smile.

"Zelda, this is Kinolin, prefers to be called Kino, and he is from Termina, a land far west from here. He is an amateur swordsman, and..." Link tried to think of something else good to describe Kino. "Uh…he is fairly knowledgeable."

"Yeah, there isn't much worth noting about me," Kino said shamefully. Nevertheless, Zelda gave a lovely smile back at Kino but…is she blushing?

"Zelda, do you have a room for Kino to stay in for the next few weeks?" Link asked.

"I'll take him there," Zelda kindly offered.

"Great, I'll stay in the castle and look around for a bit," Link said happily.

Kino and Zelda walked down a few staircases and then through a large, wide, high ceiling hallway. As they were walking, Kino noticed Zelda was looking at him often.

"Erm…may I help you?" Kino asked nervously.

"Oh, no, it's just you…" Zelda started.

"That I look a lot like Link. I get that a lot," Kino interrupted.

"No, it's not just that you look a lot like Link but you also look a bit like something very familiar," Zelda said. They looked into each others' eyes for a brief second before continuing.

Moments later they reached double doors to a moderately large bedroom. Upon entering, the room had royal luxury everywhere. Expensive rugs, hand-crafted wooden drawers, shelves and desk, hand-woven cloth drapes for the large windows, plushy beds with puffy mid-soft pillows, balcony, even a baby grand piano were part of the furniture and decoration of the room. The room was packed full of stuff, but not too much to make the area cramped.

"This room normally belongs to the Prince of Hyrule. Since Hyrule currently doesn't have a Prince, nor has ever had one, you are free to use it." Zelda walked to the center of the room.

"I'm thinking this room is too generous for me," Kino commented, still standing in the doorway.

"What's wrong?" Zelda asked.

"I'm a common person with a sword, and yet I'm getting a room like this? This just seems very unorthodox," Kino explained slowly.

"Well, I…um…thought I would be generous to you, but I can find another room if you like," Zelda replied.

"No, it's not that I don't like it. It doesn't feel right, that's all."

"Don't worry. I'm letting you have this room for the next few weeks, so you'll get used to it," Zelda replied. "I must be going. I have important business to take care of. Come to the dining hall half past 6 tonight for a feast."

Kino nodded as Zelda walked by him.

"And Kino?" Zelda asked.

"Yes?"

"You look very nice today."

Kino turned to Zelda and gave a small smile. She did the same. They said goodbye and Zelda disappeared down the hallway.

The evening came slowly, going through the usual colors of sunset. Kino headed down to the dining hall and appeared to be late, given the fact everybody except him were there. The dining room was moderately large with marble floors and pillars, many chandeliers, a long moderately wide table, neat chairs, and enough food to stuff everybody at that table. Zelda was seated at one end of the table. Link was seated to her left on the side of the table. To her right was an empty chair for Kino. There were also many wealthy nobles seated along the table.

"Glad you made it," Link said happily as Kino took his seat.

Kino shrugged and everybody began to dig in. Zelda, Link and Kino strangely enough weren't in the mood for alcohol that evening. The nobles on the other hand, were drinking quite a bit. Some were drunk to the point of being unable to maintain their composure. As they ate, Zelda taught Kino about the three Triforce pieces that people can be blessed with. Zelda had the Triforce of Wisdom, Link had the Triforce of Courage, but the Triforce of Power once belonged to an insane man who wanting control of all of Hyurle. He was killed several months ago.

"Did I ever tell you he blew up this castle before he was killed?" Link asked.

"He did?" Kino asked, shocked.

"It's true. Quite amazing how it got rebuilt so quickly," Link remarked. "You gotta hand it to those construction workers."

Several minutes went on before a slightly drunken noble stood up, wobbled a bit, and held up his glass. "I want to give my thanks to *hic* Link, Hero chosen by the Goddesses!" The nobles were cheering, calling Link "Hero of Hyrule" and "Sir Link."

"Sir Link huh?" Kino asked happily.

"Zelda made me a knight shortly after the crisis ended. I don't like the title though," Link answered, almost irritated.

While Link was getting much attention from everybody, Kino didn't get much since nobody really knew him. He didn't care. Occasionally he would get a peculiar glance because most people don't know him yet he gets the privilege to sit next to Zelda.

About an hour later, will full stomachs, the three of them walked to a small meeting room deep in the castle for a discussion before enjoying a comfortable night. They took their seats around a small table.

"How are you feeling?" Zelda asked Kino.

"Really full, what did you think?" Kino laughed.

Zelda smiled and turned over to Link. "Link, I need to tell you something of great importance."

"Zelda, if this has to do with the sightings, may we discuss this tomorrow," Link smiled. "I'm in too much of a good mood right now for this."

"It's very important," Zelda insisted, her smile disappearing.

"Alright," Link said, calming down.

Kino noticed the mood of the room suddenly changed to a very serious state.

"He's back," Zelda said with a slightly dreadful tone in her voice.

"Who is?" Link asked quietly, his smile gone.

"Ganondorf is back."

* * *

2/5/09: And so, the heavy revisions of the story up to Chapter 6 are completed. For those who don't like long Author's Notes, I'm just going to get to the point and say that if you have read my story before the date mentioned earlier, I recommend you read it again from the start. The basic plot is still the same, but future chapters may become confusing if you don't go back and reread the story and notice the big changes.

And now the long note:

So, the last time I posted a new chapter was 9/6/08. Long time ago by many standards. So what happened? Well, the interest fell apart after the 6th chapter went up. That, and the school year had recently started. The story sat gathering dust in my hard drive until a few weeks ago, I decided to finally pick myself up and type a new chapter. Only problem was, I had to reread the chapters I posted so far since I have forgotten some of the plot points and character traits. Turns out while I was rereading it, there was a load to stuff I can fix. So, starting with the Prolouge, I revised every chapter. How did I revise?

1. Fix/improve dialogue - This is a big one. Nobody wants to read a story filled with lame jokes and cheesy lines. Turns out my story had quite a few sour lines. Of course, some lines weren't so bad, but could be improved, so I did that.

2. Improve the plot - For the most part, the plot was fine, but some spots were patchy, needed to be rewritten, or just simply needed improvement. The biggest changes of the revisions relate to the plot, as some bits have been rewritten to give a better story, and make future chapters more interesting. One good side of the plot revisions is that it made some of the chapters longer, which is good news for the guys who like length.

3. Fixed some grammar issues.

Interestingly enough, the first chapter of this story was first posted just over a year ago, 1/30/08. What a difference a year makes. Hopefully, I will get started on Chapter 7 and post it. This long "Author's Note" will most likely be taken down once enough time has past to deem it unnecessary.


	8. Chapter 7: Inside Hyrule Castle

**Chapter 7: Inside Hyrule Castle**

"DAMN IT!!" Link slammed his fist onto the table. The event shook Kino into full alert, and he quickly sat upright. Zelda gave a small yelp and covered her mouth with her hand. Kino and Zelda looked at each other, then at Link.

"Are you feeling alright?" Kino asked cautiously.

"Yeah. I uh…I need to think for a moment," Link answered, a bit shaky. Link leaned back on his chair, closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths.

"I thought I killed him months ago," Link said. "He doesn't have the Triforce of Power anymore. How can he be alive and walking?"

"I…I don't know," Zelda stuttered. "Many of my guards reported seeing him just after you last left. I'm not sure if it's truly him, but if it is, I'm not certain how he came back."

Link sat there, silent, letting what Zelda said go through his mind as he tried to think about the next course of action. His frown was apparent from the bad news.

"Kino, can you leave? Zelda and I need to discuss on this serious issue," Link requested finally.

Kino nodded, slowly got up, and left the room, slowly closing the door behind him. He walked down the large dark hallways up his room. Upon entering his luxurious room, Kino noticed the candles weren't lit. Instead, the room was lit by the bright rays of the full moon. Kino went outside onto the balcony, looked up at the moon, and gave a sigh. He stood there, gazing at the moon for the next several moments before heading back inside and resting for the night.

Morning came, and Kino slowly got up and noticed the sun had risen to half an hour past sunrise. He got dressed and walked down to the dining hall, where he found Link and Zelda seated at the long table having breakfast. There was nobody else in the room except Kino. Kino walked over and took his seat across from Link.

"You slept well?" Link asked.

"Yeah, I slept fine," Kino trailed off.

"Something troubling you?" Link inquired.

"Nah, it's nothing," Kino insisted.

Link was silent for a moment, and then gave a small sigh. "I'm sorry. The bad news came unexpectedly."

"It's fine."

The three of them ate quietly for the next several minutes before leaving the hall and heading up to Princess Zelda's private chambers in one of the castle's towers. Zelda and Kino sat by each other on a small bench as Link paced back and forth in front of them trying to think of a brilliant plan of action.

"I had never seen him this focused before," Zelda whispered into Kino's left ear. "Even during the Twilight Crisis, he wasn't this determined to solve a problem, even if it was world-threatening."

"Maybe it's the fact Ganon came back a second time that is making him worry a bit," Kino replied back quietly.

"Maybe, but I haven't seen him this agitated before, ever," Zelda whispered back expressing concern. "I only said he _may_ be back, but he is taking this very seriously."

Kino looked back at Link who was still pacing, now around the room, unaware of the conversation that Kino and Zelda were having. Kino slowly tried to get himself to speak a few words to Link.

"Do you have a plan?" Kino asked slowly.

Link stopped pacing. He looked up with a somewhat determined look in his eyes. "Somewhat. I think it would be best to fortify the walls of the castle and the town below. We will have watchmen keep an eye out for anything suspicious. In the meantime…" Link slowly walked over to Zelda. "…I ask for your permission to mobilize the army, just in case."

Zelda slowly nodded. Link gave a small smile and nodded back. Link looked down and noticed something. "Are you two holding hands?" Link asked, slightly confused.

Kino and Zelda both looked down and noticed Kino's left hand and Zelda's right were holding each other affectionately. Kino and Zelda both withdrew their hands and looked away in slight embarrassment. "Sorry, that was unintentional," Kino spoke quickly. Link only grinned.

As the day slowly dragged on, the Hyrule guards stepped up their patrol measures. The noticeable tightening of security had Castle Town flowing with rumors about what was going on. Some say there were sightings of monsters outside of town. Some say the Princess was getting paranoid. A maniac suggested apocalypse had arrived. He was promptly arrested. Princess Zelda decided to not give a speech to her people about recent happenings. "People can be frightened very easily," Zelda explained to Kino.

As the days dragged on, the rumors in Castle Town grew stronger around recent sightings of black monsters and the mobilization of the Hyrule army. A cloudy morning arrived while Kino was donning his combat armor, and polishing his claymore before he sheathed it into the case on his back. He looked at a large mirror and tidied himself up.

"Going somewhere?"

Kino looked over and found Zelda standing at the doorway, slowly walking over. Kino turned to her and gave a small smile. "Not really," he replied.

Zelda took a look at him. He was dressed in chainmail and bits of white plating for the joints; the typical Hyrule soldier uniform. Unlike most normal soldiers, Kino was armed with a claymore, opposed to the traditional lance.

"Private?" Zelda asked.

"I just enlisted in the army." Kino chuckled. "I can imagine how hard it would be for people to call me a 'private.' It's hard enough that I look similar to the person who saved Hyrule from certain destruction."

Kino looked over and noticed Link standing at the doorway. "I better get going." Kino smiled to Zelda and walked out of the room. Link looked over at Zelda and waved good-bye. She waved back.

Link and Kino left the grounds of Hyrule Castle and headed into the center of Castle Town, where there was a gorgeous fountain with a café to the southeast corner of the square. They had their lunch there while watching the people busily move about around the fountain.

"You nervous?" Link asked.

"Yes," Kino replied shortly.

"That's typical," Link said rhetorically. "Everybody gets nervous their first time among the ranks of the army."

Kino smirked. "You're lucky you didn't have to go through it."

They sat there for the next few minutes before Link got up. "All right, let's go."

Kino got up and followed Link to the southern district of Castle Town, also known as the Market District. It was full-on crowded as they tried to squeeze their way through to the gates to South Hyrule Field.

**South Hyrule Field**

The sky became thicker with water heavy clouds, the air becoming slightly moister, and the feeling of future thunder filling the air. Kino followed Link heading south. They went down the several stone stairways and onto the field itself, where it winded into a narrow path surrounded by rock walls both sides. As they immerged onto the main south section of the field, the Hyrule Army camp spanned across them. Link and Kino walked through the sleepy camp and within moments came to the army itself. All of the soldiers were on alert, looking for anything suspicious in the massive opening of the field. The commanding officer took notice of Link and Kino and walked over.

"Sir," the officer saluted.

Link looked over at Kino and signaled him to go ahead.

Kino stepped forward, gave a decent salute, pulled out a slip from one of his pouches, and handed it to the officer. The officer took the slip and slowly read it.

"Private Kinolin, recently joined the ranks of the army, correct?" the officer questioned.

"Yes sir," Kino replied.

The officer looked up and smiled. "Very well, follow me."

They walked forward through the many catapults and archers until they reached near the front lines.

"These here are the front lines of the army," the officer explained bluntly. "Feel free to ask question if you have any."

"Yes sir," Kino nodded. The officer acknowledged back and went back to his post.

"That was very brief," Kino noted.

"Some officers don't like having new guys around," Link answered. "Don't worry, you're better off than most new soldiers. I need to get a status report from the officer, I'll be back."

Kino slowly walked through the many soldiers looking out of the field, nervous at the fact that people were looking and staring at him. He tried to avoid their glances. Kino soon reached a small area where he could think to himself. He sat down and began to look into the sky. The clouds were now on the brink of letting the rain drop, and small strokes of thunder can be seen in the clouds, along with light thunder being heard. Kino sighed and looked towards the south where the trees of Faron Woods can barely be seen.

Kino noticed a small dot fly up from the horizon, with a small black trail following it. Kino squinted, trying to focus on the object. The object continued upwards into the sky, and then began falling. This time, Kino could see it's a giant round rock…on fire. It came closer, and faster. Soon, Kino could see it's a fireball ready to slam right where Kino sat. Kino frantically got on his feet and started running to get out of the impact zone.

He shouted to the best of his ability. "Everybody! Move, move, MOVE!!"

The fireball slammed into the ground right behind Kino, thrusting him forward, off his feet. He slammed into the ground on his chest and gave a painful grunt. A soldier quickly grabbed Kino and quickly got back on his feet. Kino looked back into the horizon and found fireballs all over the horizon heading towards the army. He quickly ran back to safety as quickly as he could. Everywhere around him, smoke was pouring, and the ground shook from minor impact earthquakes.

Kino made it back a safe distance from the hazard zone. He sat by a tent, and the soldier who helped him up quickly looked at him. "You ok, private?" he asked quickly. Kino nodded.

"Damn, that thing almost landed on top of you. Good thing you noticed it," the soldier remarked. "Come on, you got to get up. We got bigger issues."

Kino quickly got on his feet and looked out southward. He soon saw a "black" army storming towards them. The Hyrule army was confused at what they were. Everybody looked at each other, but soon took defensive positions. The weather now turned unpleasant. The rain began to fall, but lightly. Lighting is now visible and cutting across the sky.

Within moments, the two armies met and sounds of metal contact resonated everywhere. Kino managed to take a look at the "black" army and became started. They weren't normal people, they were "shadow" people; all dark with red eyes. They were ruthless, and they were skilled. Within moments the very front lines of the Hyrule Army fell, and the shadow army stormed towards the second line, where Kino stood. Kino took a step back as the shadow army charged at him and the soldiers around him. The shadow army was armed primarily with lances, strangely a lot like the ones Hyrule uses.

Kino unsheathed his claymore and watched as one of the shadow soldiers jumped at him, literally. They were unhuman, capable of feats the normal man can never achieve, and this "person" managed to jump several feet into the air before coming down in full force. Kino managed to hold against the force of the blow, and sent major recoil against the shadow. With a single hand, Kino sent the claymore right through the shadow's abdomen. The shadow gave a strange grunt, dark blood coming out of its mouth. Kino yanked the claymore out and the shadow fell to the ground lifeless.

He had no time to observe the "death", and he quickly got caught up desperately trying to defend himself. As soldiers around him fell, Kino kept on going, trying to fall back. Soon, Kino had run out of strength, cuts and bruises everywhere, and unable to continue, but there was nothing he could do. He found himself completely surrounded. There was no escape; everyone around him was either dead or fleeing away. He was alone…

"Please dear Goddesses, please help," Kino prayed in his mind.

Someone jumped at him; Kino quickly sent the tip of his claymore across the attacker's chest. A sword soon came tearing across his right cheek, and Kino cried in pain. A war hammer moderately hit his back and he collapsed on his knees, and lifted his right hand to his cheek. There was a noticeable wound, and much blood beginning to come out. The wound burned and bled. A heavy boot forcefully kicked Kino on the side sending him on his back. Kino couldn't see. The pain kept his eyes shut. He heard a voice; human, but filled with evil and greed.

"Well, well. I believe our commander would love to see this one," the voice said, pleased. "Take him, he will make a great prisoner."

Kino felt his arms painfully grabbed and was forced on his feet. They tied his hands behind his back with rope and pushed him in a certain direction. Kino didn't know where he was going or what they were going to do. All he knew was he is now a prisoner of war, and prisoners of war either end up dead or go insane from captivity.

"What about his weapon?" a soldier asked, his voice equally menacing.

"Take it from him, or melt it, I don't care."

Kino was soon lifted and thrown onto what felt to be a wagon. Kino's mind began to swirl, his breathing slowed. He began to worry about the future. What will become of him? His mind began to lose strength and he fell unconscious.

* * *

_He was looking at the full moon from a balcony. He turned around and slowly walked into the dark room behind him. "What am I doing here?" Kino thought. He noticed a young man standing several feet in front of him, staring at something. Kino walked over and noticed the young man was mesmerized by what he was holding and looking at. The young man was dressed in a dark robe, and he was holding some kind of mask, but Kino couldn't tell. As Kino walked up to the young man, the man looked up at Kino, and Kino gasped. The young man looked fatigued, but his teeth were sharp, his eyes were a wary blood-thirsty red, his dirty-blonde hair turning silvery-white. Kino stood in shock, but the features of the man's face wasn't what scared him the most. The man looked very familiar, someone Kino already knew._

_It was…Link? No…

* * *

_

Kino abruptly woke up and breathed in quickly. He shakily and slowly let his breath out. His shaky breathing continued as he slowly sat up to look at his surroundings. His cheek wound had stopped bleeding, and a blood scar took its place. Kino looked around and found his surroundings to be very quiet, both visually and audibly. There was no noise around him except his breathing and the wind outside the covered wagon. The wagon Kino was in had collapse on its left side. Kino slowly and painfully climbed out of the wagon and was met with a surprising sight. There was nothing but blood and dead bodies everywhere. The Shadow soldiers around him were all dead, their blood staining the grass of Hyrule Field. Kino, with much effort and continuing pain, slowly limped across the sea of dead bodies.

The weather had cleared, the sun approaching the twilight hours, the wind blowing in a light breeze. The ground was somewhat wet and soft, from the earlier rain. Kino moved along, the incomprehensible scene of death everywhere scared him. He noticed the towers of Hyrule Castle north of him, and Kino began to head in that direction. Kino went on for a few more minutes across the massive field until he came across an anomaly in the sea of black bodies. He noticed it was a person dressed in green. Kino quickly went over while wincing in pain. As he came closer he noticed who it was.

"Oh no, please don't tell me," Kino muttered desperately.

Link was lying on his chest unconscious. The Master Sword and his metal shield were sheathed, and strangely Link was not covered in blood. Link was holding something on his left hand. As Kino took a look, the mask immediately sent chills down his spine. It was the Fierce Deity Mask Link had acquired back in Termina. As he looked at the mask, he couldn't take his eyes off it. He noticed that the blank eyes were _looking_ at him, and he felt a fear building inside of him. Kino began to feel a pain building in his chest, but it wasn't a normal chest pain, it was one of emptiness. His breath began to become shallow, and the fear kept on building. Soon it reached a limit and Kino collapsed onto his knees and hands, gasping for air, breathing heavily.

_Calm down, calm down,_ Kino told himself. Kino carefully got up and cautiously looked at the mask again. This time, nothing happened. The blank eyes showed nothing. Kino carefully sat down, but then suddenly remembered something.

"Oh crap…" Kino quickly got on his knees and turned Link onto his backside. Link's hand kept its grip on the mask as Kino turned him over. "Come on, wake up. Wake up!" Kino shook Link somewhat violently.

Link gave a tired moan and slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Kino and his eyes widened. "Kino? Wha-What happened to your face? There's a big scar on your cheek."

"Injury," Kino explained.

Link looked at their surroundings and was slightly bewildered. "We better move, they could be back if we stay here."

"Ok, but I want to know what happened," Kino demanded. "How did all of these 'people' die?"

Link became very hesitant about what he was going to say. "…Something very unpleasant happened, but that's not important. We need to get you medical attention; you are bruised everywhere. Come on."

Link aided Kino as they moved their way northward towards the Castle Town walls. The sea of dead shadow bodies turned into the sight of dead Hyrulian soldiers. Kino gaped at the sight, his mind becoming severely numb. Link had to keep Kino moving know that the area could leave a traumatic mark on Kino's mind.

As they emerge from the ravine route, a massive line of soldiers took their positions, but then realized it was not hostile. Some of the soldiers quickly ran over and helped Kino to the nearest doctor. Link followed. Kino was taken to a tent near the stone steps leading up to the walls of Castle Town.

As one of the medical personnel bandaged Kino, he looked up in curiosity at him. "What happened out there?"

"I don't know," Kino answered. "We were caught off guard and I was taken prisoner. Then I fell unconscious. When I woke up, pretty much everything around me was dead."

"The weather went bad earlier," the doctor told him. "It rained with much thunder for about half an hour, then suddenly stopped, and the clouds cleared. It was really strange."

Kino gave a sigh. He was not in the mood to hear some "you're lucky" bull crap. He just wanted to get back into town and rest. After the bandages were applied, Kino stood up and walked out of the tent. He was still limping somewhat, but he was able to walk at a decent pace without experiencing excruciating pain. As he walked he was suddenly embraced by a young woman.

"You're alright!" she cried.

"Zelda? What are you doing here?" Kino asked as he hugged her back.

"I was worried," Zelda sniffed a bit, smiling.

Kino and Zelda walked up the stone steps towards the south Castle Town gate and took seats on one of the benches. There wasn't much of a view due to the terrain, but it was enough to see the rays of the sunlight covering the field with golden colors.

"Beautiful, don't you think?" Zelda remarked.

"Truly," Kino smiled.

Zelda then looked down, saddened. "It is very depressing Hyrule is fighting a war now. Soon this beautiful field will be covered with many of life's cruelties."

Kino remained silent, the thought sickening him. They watched the sunset for several more minutes before Zelda spoke in a serious tone.

"There is something of great importance that you need to do," Zelda requested. "I met with one of the representatives of the other army."

"Who?" Kino asked curiously.

"The representative of the 'shadow' army," Zelda answered. "His leader sent him to give me a warning that everything you see around here will die. He did not say how, he did not say why. He said nothing else, only the warning and his leader's name."

"What exactly do you need me to do?"

"Find information on the enemies' leader, only known as Majora."

* * *

A/N: Surprised that a story left for seven months without a new chapter getting something new? I'm surprised myself.


	9. Chapter 8: Hyrule Castle Upper Levels

**Chapter 8: Hyrule Castle Upper Levels**

_Many months into the future…_

Kino stood outside on the high levels of the central tower of Hyrule Castle, looking south at the landscape of the vast fields. The scene had changed. The blood of thousands of innocent soldiers stained the ground, and not a day goes by without a cloud weighing down on the morale of the people still alive. The numbers of the army have fallen in recent months, and yet Majora's and Ganondorf's armies appeared unscathed. No matter what is thrown at them, "dark armies" keep on coming. The soldiers were exhausted, resources were soon to be limited, and the uncertainty of the future loomed over many minds. Hyrule appeared to be on the verge of defeat, unless a miracle from the Goddesses can save the kingdom.

Kino stood tall, his hands on the beautifully crafted stone rail, looking deep into the horizon with eyes of determination and at the same time pain. The sun approached the twilight hour, and was soon to lay the usual golden colors across the land. Zelda slowly walked over to Kino from behind, her hands together and held up to her chest. As she came closer she let her hands relax by her side. She opened her mouth to speak to Kino, but hesitated, and looked down with sadness. She knew what he was thinking. Several feet behind, Link was leaning against a stone column, arms crossed, looking over at the two of them. He then looked forward at the setting sun.

Kino gave a deep sigh. "How long has it been?" he asked solemnly.

"A year and a half," Zelda answered quietly.

Kino slowly looked over at Zelda. "It feels much longer than that," Kino remarked quietly. He slowly turned to Zelda. Kino was wearing a full set of mostly gray knight armor without the helmet. He was no longer under the command of the army, but still fights in the war. The claymore had remained the same, though showing signs of heavy usage. Kino had become a bit of a war hero next to Link, but was not decorated with any medals or signs of recognition. He declined all of them.

Kino slowly walked past Zelda. As he pasted Link, Link walked by his side back into the castle. As they walked down the large corridors of the castle, Kino couldn't stop himself from showing great guilt.

"Everything fine?" Link asked.

"No, everything is not fine," Kino answered sadly.

"Kino, you need to move on. Otherwise you will suffer severe mental problems if you continue to dwell on the tragic past," Link advised.

"Easy for you to say," Kino replied. "You never had to see almost everyone you knew die in one place."

Link stopped walking and looked at Kino.

"I was sent with a group to protect Ordon Village. We were attacked, but were annihilated. The enemy killed my entire unit, except for me. They knew I was from the village, and held me hostage." Kino looked away and gave a deep sigh. "They had me watch them round up the village, and one by one they killed them."

Link closed his eyes, anger growing apparent on his face.

"I'm sorry Link. I couldn't save Ilia," Kino forced himself to say.

"I told you, I'm not angry because you couldn't save her. I'm angry at the goddamn bastards that killed her and the village," Link replied sternly.

"What's difference does it make? I failed to defend the village and they all died," Kino shot back. Kino looked out one of the large windows. "They let me walk back to the castle. They thought the traumatic events will break my mind by the time I get back. I'm not even sure if I've gone insane yet."

Kino began to continue down the hallway with Link still standing where he was.

"You'll live," Link spoke.

Kino glanced over his shoulder. "Let's hope."

Kino walked into his room and sat down at his desk. He rested his head into his hands and tired to push the shame away. He couldn't. Kino heard footsteps and looked behind him.

"Commander," Kino greeted.

"I need you to come with me," the commander requested. "We also need Link to hear what I need to say."

"Yeah, I'll take you to him," Kino said depressingly.

"Are you feeling well sir?" the commander asked worryingly.

"How many times do people have to ask me that? Look, I'll be fine, I just need time to move on," Kino replied.

They found Link in his room, but his face was curiously pale. He quickly noticed them and quickly addressed the commander.

"Commander Torran, what news do you have?" Link inquired, regaining his posture.

"Close the door, this must be kept secret," Torran motioned to Kino. Kino quickly closed the door then returned.

"I have the scouting and espionage reports. There are grim," Torran began. "I don't know how to make this comprehendible, but the enemy have their own among us."

Link and Kino remained silent.

"This has been going on for a while. Majora's spies are normal people who defected to the sorcerer's cause or have been serving under it for years. That means that anybody you talk to might be secretly serving under Majora, even Zelda's most trusted advisors. It is difficult to find these traitors. All the spies act just like any other citizen."

"Things just keep getting worse, don't they?" Kino commented negatively.

"Well, I'm sorry I didn't have any good news for you," Torran apologized.

"Kino, come with me. We have to tell Zelda this." Link grabbed Kino's arm and led him out of the room and towards the throne room where Zelda was normally found during the evening hours. As they quickly made their way to Zelda, Link spoke in a serious tone. "Kino, I want to you promise me you won't speak to anyone about anything confidential unless I deem it safe, understood?"

"I'll do that," Kino acknowledged.

"Damn, it's how they have been countering our strategies so easily," Link came to the conclusion.

Upon reaching the archway to the side of the throne, Link suddenly stopped. Immediately suspicion came to his face. Kino looked out the archway and found Zelda standing in front of a dark soldier, one of Majora's men. Zelda was maintaining a firm frown across her face while the soldier was smiling menacingly.

"I was sent by my leader as you probably know. I am here to offer you a proposal from our leader." The man pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment, unrolled it and read it out loud. "'Hyrule is to surrender to the Great Majora, and all land is to be subjected to his rule if the leaders of Hyrule would want any hope of their people surviving and seeing a better future. If this unconditional surrender is refused, Majora will send the command to obliterate and destroy anything that refuses to join his cause.'" The soldier rolled up the parchment and continued to look at Zelda with the scary smile.

Zelda maintained a straight face. She remained silent for a moment and then spoke slowly. "What will your leader promise if we surrender?"

The man only chuckled, as if amused by such a humorous question. "I told you, my master will spare the people of Hyrule if the Kingdom surrenders and swears allegiance. Otherwise, we kill everyone, soldiers and civilians."

Zelda thought for a moment, and then gave a deep sigh. "No, I refuse," she responded.

"Very well, we shall see Hyrule fall in a few days," the soldier smirked. "Good day Princess." He turned and walked briskly out of the room surrounded by the Hyrule Guard.

Zelda looked down and appeared to be wondering if her response was the correct one in dire times like these. She looked to her side and noticed Link and Kino had been eavesdropping on her conversation. She walked over and looked up at them.

"I guess I don't need to explain the situation to both of you," she said calmly.

"No, you don't," Kino replied quietly.

Zelda looked down, sighed and walked past both of them.

"Zelda, we need to tell you something," Kino spoke suddenly.

Zelda stopped and turned around facing Kino.

"They have spies among us, be careful who you talk to," Kino informed.

Zelda nodded, turned around, and continued down the hallway towards her chamber. Kino looked around and suddenly noticed that Link disappeared. Kino gave another moment to glance at his surroundings but decided that Link most likely headed off back into his room.

Lately Link hadn't been himself. In the past couple of weeks he had been short-tempered and agitated by anyone who brought him bad news. Link had been staying in his room more frequently, probably to cope with stress. Strangest yet were times when Link came back from the fields. He would come back from one of his "visits" to the fields all covered in the blood of the Shadow Army, and only claim that he had a bit of trouble. The next day, a scout would report a whole army was wiped out where there were no Hyrule soldiers positioned. Some found it awkward yet never questioned Link about it.

Kino stopped by Link's room before heading off to his own. As he entered the room, he found it dark with the exception of a lit candle or two on the desk. Seated at the desk was Link, whose left hand was up to his forehead. As Kino approached Link, he found Link was somewhat covered in sweat, breathing slightly heavily, and his right hand trembling noticeably. Link looked over his left shoulder and noticed Kino to his left side.

"Kino? What are you doing here?" Link asked, surprised.

"I don't know, wondering where you went while I was talking to Zelda," Kino answered. He then took notice of Link's eyes. "Whoa, what happened to your eyes? They are kind of…red."

Link looked over at the candles and then back at Kino.

"Probably the candles," Link replied shortly.

"Right, I'll see you on the eastern fields then," Kino said.

As Kino turned to begin walking out of the room, he caught glance at the Fierce Deity Mask on Link's desk. Immediately it scared Kino, and Kino soon found himself walking out of Link's room hurriedly and terrified. When into entered his own room, he sat on his bed and calmed down.

Outside, the full moon was almost at its height. Kino went outside onto his balcony, stood at the railing, and looked at the scenery lit by the moon.

"You like the view, don't you?"

Kino looked behind him and found Zelda slowly walking towards him.

"Yeah, I do. I don't really know why though," Kino smiled weakly.

"What do you mean?" Zelda asked.

"I always find myself going outside during full moons. I don't really know how to put it into words. It's just this feeling that makes me want to look at it every month," Kino explained.

Zelda nodded. "I saw you walking quickly out of Link's room, like you saw a ghost or something."

"Um…yes, I did." Kino said embarrassingly.

"May I ask what it was?"

"It's this mask Link got from Termina. Every time I look at it, it scares the crud out of me. And it's not just a regular kind of scared, it's the kind that comes from deep inside," Kino explained briskly.

"Mask? Link got a mask from Termina?" Zelda was puzzled.

"Wait, you mean he didn't tell you?" Kino asked.

"No."

"Huh, that's strange. He must have been keeping it a secret then," Kino concluded.

Kino and Zelda continued to gaze at the moon and the scenery for the next several moments.

"This is a very romantic moment," Zelda smiled.

Kino chuckled and grinned. "Yeah, romantic moment," he repeated.

"Did you know I carry the Triforce of Wisdom?"

"Yeah, Link told me when I first came to the castle."

Zelda pulled off the white glove off her right hand showed the dark Triforce mark on the back of her hand.

"My family carried this for generations. Nayru blessed my ancestors for their heroic actions in maintaining peace in the early days of the Kingdom. But there was a slight price, if you could call it that, in the blessing. Each generation can only have one child, and that one child has always been female. That female will carry the Triforce of Wisdom and pass it on to her first and only daughter. Hyrule has never had a prince. Kings, yes, but never any princes. The royal side of my family has never had any siblings. Only females have ever carried the Royal blood. The husbands are always outsiders." Zelda paused and looked over at Kino. "What about your ancestors?"

Kino hesitated and remembered what his foster mother told him back in Termina.

"I…I don't know anything about my past," Kino answered solemnly. "My foster mother gave me the unsigned letter that she found me with. It said if I wish to know more about my past, I travel to Hyrule. I've been here for well over a year now, so I've yet to find out."

"An unsigned letter, that's strange," Zelda commented. "Link had a similar background. He never knew about his past either. Maybe you two are related somehow."

Kino chuckled. "Yeah, maybe."

Zelda looked down and frowned. "This might be the last peaceful moment Hyrule will ever have again. Tomorrow the enemy march under Ganondorf's command. They will be relentless."

The grim reality wiped out any joy Kino had at that moment.

"Good night, Kino." Zelda turned and walked out of his room.

Kino remained where he was, gazing into the distance. He looked down and began praying to the Goddesses.

* * *

_Another dark, empty, endless room, and Kino felt cold._

_He walked along, but he began to hear voices. Kino walked towards the direction of the voices, and soon enough saw two people standing near a candle stand. As Kino approached closer, he started to make out the conversation._

"…_but I saw my father there!" Kino recognized the first one speaking, who was in disbelief._

"_How do you know it's your father? He could be any of the spirits lost to time." The voice was deep, menacing, yet somewhat similar to the first voice._

_Kino walked closer, behind a young man. Standing in front of the young man made Kino nervous. It was a tall warrior. His hair was silvery white, his eyes had no pupils, his face had red markings around the eyes, and a blue v-mark on the center of his forehead. He wore black tights with white sleeves and hat, with light armor covering the body. His gauntlets and boots were suited for war, and he carried a massive blue and green double-helix sword on his back. The shape of his face seemed very familiar._

"_No…I won't do it, I won't," the young man kept denying, his voice shaking._

"_You can, and you will, it's only a matter of time," the warrior smiled, showing his sharp teeth._

"_I won't do it," the young man kept repeating._

"_Keep denying all you want, but after you, it will be him." He pointed at Kino and Kino froze. The warrior broke into a cynical laughter and the young man turned to look at Kino._

_The young man's dirty blonde hair was well on its way of turning into the same silvery white. His eyes were bloodshot red, and his breathing was slightly heavy. He wore a green tunic, and his was worried, and shocked by Kino's presence. The swordsman who showed great bounds of courage was now scared for his life. It was Link._

_Kino suddenly felt something cold grab his neck, and immediately he felt a massive headache. He winced and his chest began to throb by a massive pain, a pain of emptiness. He collapsed onto the floor and quickly lost consciousness, still hearing the laughter of the dark warrior.

* * *

_

Kino abruptly woke up and jumped out of bed, and just ran. He ran right up to his mirror and looked at himself. His face was very pale, his eyes were wide open, and he was breathing heavily.

"Just relax, it's only a dream, just calm down," Kino tried to tell himself. But lately it was becoming more difficult for him to calm down from nightmares. He had these kinds of dreams before. They rarely happen, but when they do, Kino suffers from panic.

Kino managed to straighten himself out, and had his breakfast in his room, unable to gather enough bravery to leave his own room. When Kino managed to get dressed and armed, he finally left. As he left, he thought he saw the same warrior from his dream. Kino jumped back and pulled out his claymore and took a defensive stance.

"Kino?"

Kino looked up and it was Link. Link looked like he had a bad night, much like Kino.

"Sorry," Kino stood down. "I had a really bad…dream last night."

Link remained strangely silent and began to look slightly worried as they walked towards the fields waiting to defend from the massive assault of the shadow army.

**East Hyrule Field**

At the camp located on East Hyrule Field, Kino sat by himself, wondering the fate of Hyrule's future. Link was lost in his thoughts too, though he seemed much more worried than everyone else.

"Sir, we've sighted them," a soldier told Link.

Kino stood up and looked into the distance. Out in the distance, near the Bridge of Eldin, the Shadow Army began materializing out of the ground. Within moments, they became an army of thousands strong, marching. The Hyrulian army moved into position, without speaking a single word. Link and Kino stood at the center of the formation. Link unsheathed the Master Sword, and slowly a strange bloodlust came to his eyes. He looked at Kino and signaled good luck. And then it began.

It was no different than any other battle. Hyrule always had the advantage in terms of skill, but the enemy had the massive advantage of numbers. As the battle raged on, Kino didn't have much difficulty taking down those who attack him, allowing him to take notice of a strange sight. Near him, there was blood flying everywhere. When Kino slowly moved to get a view, he saw Link beating down anything that got in his way with brute force. Link's cries were filled with anger, as he tore through several shadow soldiers. When he finished, he looked somewhat relieved, and looked up at Kino. Link's eyes were the same slightly bloodshot red as the night before. He slowly walked up to Kino.

"Something wrong?" Link said, panting slightly.

"Yeah, your eyes are slightly red again," Kino answered.

Link paused. "We'll talk about his later after…"

"Behind you!"

But Kino's warning came too late. A massive sword bursted out of Link's left chest, and Link gave a painful grunt. He looked down at the massive sword and slowly tried to look behind him, but couldn't. Some blood began trailing out of his mouth and down his chin. The blood from the massive wound began to quickly spread and stain Link's tunic. His breathing became shallow, and shortly after, he slowly closed his eyes. The sword was abruptly pulled out, and Link fell forward, revealing the massive wound where Link got stabbed.

Kino looked up and saw a red-haired middle-aged man with a tall, massive, stout build. He wore black armor with gold outlines, along with a dark red cape. He carried an equally impressively large, glowing, white sword. Ganondorf was grinning down at Kino, and lifted his massive sword. It came down with massive speed, with Kino barely jumping out of the way. The shockwave of the sword impact on the ground sent Kino hitting the dirt, dropping his claymore. Kino quickly turned onto his back and saw Ganondorf giving an evil laugh, as he faded away.

Kino looked at Link, only to find him still on the ground completely motionless. Kino quickly got on his feet and began running towards the Hyrule army. Kino realized that he and Link were quite a distance away from ally soldiers. The shadow army began the retreat, apparently accomplishing what they came for. The Hyrulian soldiers maintained their ground, not chasing the retreating enemy. They quickly caught sight of Kino running towards them.

"Quick! I need some help, Link is down!" Kino yelled desperately.

Two high-ranking officers quickly joined Kino as they ran back to where Link fell. When they arrived, Kino quickly noticed Link had disappeared. The three of them looked around for any signs of Link, any signs of the enemy taking him, but no luck.

All that remained was Link's blood, and the Master Sword beside it.

* * *

A/N 06/06/09: I just looked at the picture Nintendo had just released on the New Zelda Wii, and I think it's likely the next game will interfere with this story since the pic so far looks like a Twilight Princess sequel. But Miyamoto said that the game will take place in a different time era than Twilight Princess. Hm...I'll need to wait and see.


	10. Chapter 9: An Underground Cavern

**Chapter 9: An Underground Cavern**

Ganondorf walked up the steps in a strange underground temple. He passed many statues of robed sorcerers of many endless centuries ago. Everything was lit in a dim blue light, making everything barely visible. As Ganondorf continued walking up the steps, a massive archway leading up to a massive room loomed in the dense fog of the cavern. He entered the room, which was much vaster and better lit than the previous room. He walked along the carpet path to a mysterious, floating object. The object turned around looking at Ganondorf. The floating object was heart-shaped with spikes around it, wide open eyes, very colorful, and complete with bizarre ritual markings around it. A set of tentacles drop to its side.

"I have killed him, Majora" Ganon said with a smirk.

"Have you? That's quite satisfying," Majora said, in a hallow voice. "But what about the other boy?"

"What!?" Ganon asked, caught off guard.

"I assume you have killed the younger child?" Majora continued.

"That wasn't part of our deal. I was supposed to kill the hero and be allowed to keep my second life," Ganon spoke angrily.

"The deal was that you kill both of them and then would be promised to keep your life." Majora said flatly. "But you didn't do that did you?"

Ganondorf's face was red with anger, apparent that he had been backstabbed by Majora.

"It's a shame I don't believe in second chances," Majora began to laugh.

Before Ganon could react, one of Majora's sharp tentacles lifted and shot at Ganon's chest, hitting him directly. Ganon gasped, and his eyes grew wide. The tentacle abruptly pulled out of his chest, and Ganon fell back, landing with a large thud.

Majora turned over to his side. "You, over here."

A young shadow adult stepped forward.

"We are going to the surface soon, and I need you to…help me accomplish our goal up there."

Majora then began to hysterically shriek with laughter, its sound haunting through the temple and caverns themselves.

**East Castle Town**

Kino entered the town, trying the avoid looking at anyone as he carried the Master Sword in its scabbard. People began to take notice of what Kino was carrying under his left arm, and every single person fell silent as Kino walked briskly by them. As Kino walked through the even more crowded central section of town, people fell silent there too. Their faces were filled with disbelief, as seeing the Master Sword without its wielder brought a depressing omen of things to come.

Kino entered the castle without any delay; the guards simply stood out of his way. As Kino made his way into the throne room, Zelda stood up from her chair, relieved to see Kino, and anxious to hear the outcome of the Eastern Hyrule Field battle. When Kino stood in front of Zelda, she gave him an affectionate hug. Kino took his right hand and patted her back.

"Thank the Goddesses you're alright," Zelda cried. "Where's Link?"

Zelda released her hug. Kino slowly took the scabbard holding the Master Sword, and held it out to Zelda. Slowly, tears began to come to her eyes.

"He's…dead?" She asked quietly, trying to prevent her voice from shaking.

"We…We don't know," Kino answered faintly. "The best we can say is he disappeared."

"What?" Zelda's eyes lit up.

"Ganon stabbed him, and Ganon fled. I went to get help but when we came back Link disappeared. There were no traces of blood, or anything to show Link had moved or been moved," Kino explained. "It's like he vanished."

There was silence for the next moment.

"I must be going now," Kino said sighed, handing Zelda the Master Sword. He then turned around and began to walk out of the room.

"Wait," Zelda called.

Kino stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Meet me in my chamber at midnight tonight," Zelda requested. "Come alone, there is something I want to show you."

Kino nodded, and left the room.

When night came, and the full moon rose to its peak, Kino walked up the long spiral staircase to Zelda's private chambers. As Kino entered the room, it was surprisingly dark, with the exception of the moonlight and a lit candle on a desk near where Zelda stood. Zelda appeared to be praying, then turned around and walked up to Kino.

"Follow me," she whispered.

Kino followed Zelda down the many stairways of the castle, and through rooms Kino had never gone through. They continued down into the underground levels of the castle. Upon reaching the third underground level of the castle, they stopped in the middle of a dimly lit and dusty hallway. Zelda pushed a brick on the stone wall and slowly the stones retreated to form a passageway. Zelda grabbed Kino's left hand and led him into the passageway, the wall behind them sealing.

The air became much cooler, near the point of being cold. They emerged out of the passageway and into a moderately-sized dark room. The room had a height that extended into darkness, the floors were a dark marble, and room was next to lit at all, with a dark blue hue. On the wall opposite of where Kino was standing, there were grand statues of the Goddesses similar to the ones Kino saw in the castle's throne room, but these were much older, yet somehow fought against the forces of aging. The statues were lit with a strange spotlight effect in a dark blue color.

Most dominating was a pedestal in the center of the room, which was lit by the rays of the moon through a distant window from far above. Planted in the pedestal was a rather massive dark two-handed sword. The blade bore a width slightly wider than most two-handed swords. The powerful hilt was a sharp w-shape, with a red gem embedded in the hilt between the handle and blade, and a look that demands respect. Kino felt a strange temptation and a slight headache as he approached the sword with Zelda.

"Think of this sword as the Master Sword's dark counterpart," Zelda began. "It once belonged to a fierce warrior of the darkness. He was cursed into the darkness since birth, but he was never evil. The darkness gave him this sword, and he used this power to defend the Triforce from those who sought it. Those who fought him died. However, he was defeated and slain by a sorcerer wielding a dark mask used in hexing rituals. When soldiers arrived, the warrior's body disappeared, and all was left was this dark sword.

"Some say a small part of the warrior's spirit or a spirit of the darkness lives on in this blade. The sword allowed the sages of the time to strike down the blade on this pedestal, and the sword waits for the day one worthy of its power arrives. Those who have tried to claim it have died. To this day, the only one who has wielded this sword and lived would be the fierce warrior himself."

Zelda remained silent for the next moment, while Kino was sorting out the story in his head.

"Where did the warrior disappear to?" Kino asked.

"We don't know," Zelda answered. "Some say he never died. Others say since the fierce warrior's power was from the darkness, he was taken to an underworld of sorts, but we will never truly know."

"Did that sorcerer succeed in claiming the Triforce?"

"No. His tribe saw him as selfish. The tribe sealed the mask far away where nobody will ever find it and killed the sorcerer. However, since the fierce warrior who protected the Triforce was dead, it meant the tribe of sorcerers was free to take the Triforce. They killed anybody in their way, including armies, but when they were about to claim it, the Spirits of Light intervened and sealed them away to another realm. The Triforce itself was sealed away into another realm, where nobody would gain access to it. However, many centuries later, someone did gain access to that realm, but that is another long story."

"What was that mask the sorcerer used?" Kino slightly bit his lip.

"It was Majora's mask," Zelda answered shortly.

"What?" Kino's eyes widened. "Ah crap, we're screwed." He lifted his left hand up to his chin.

Zelda remained silent, her blue eyes continued to look at the sword.

"This is a forgotten legend that only an extreme few know. I thought I would tell it to you since Link's disappearance is somewhat similar," Zelda explained. "Link did disappear without a trace, correct?"

"Yes."

"And the Master Sword was the only thing left behind?"

"Yeah."

Kino and Zelda looked at each other.

"I, uh, don't think Link's disappearance relates much to what you just told me," Kino expressed his thoughts.

Zelda looked back at the dark sword. "You're probably right. We better be going now."

_Come…_

Kino suddenly stood upright, quickly looking around.

"Kino, is everything fine?" Zelda asked curiously.

Kino remained silent, continuing to look around the room. "I thought I heard something."

Zelda looked slightly puzzled. "I didn't hear anything."

"Yeah, let's just leave." Kino left the room with Zelda, but a small part of him strangely wants to remain in there, wanting to do something.

Kino continued to follow Zelda up the underground levels until they reached the familiar deserted hallways lit by the light of the full moon. Zelda turned around, her blue eyes meeting Kino's darker blue ones.

"I had this strange feeling when you first came back. I had this need to show you that sword. I'm not sure why, but I thought I should let you know," Zelda explained.

Kino looked to his side and out the window. "I don't think it would help us much though."

Outside the window was a nicely trimmed lawn with a stone fountain in the middle. The moonlight lit the water like they were crystals.

"Good night Kino," Zelda smiled.

Kino looked back at Zelda and smiled back. Zelda turned around and went back to her private chambers.

As the night wore on, Kino spent his time on the balcony outside his room. He sat on the bench, watching the moon slowly move across the sky. He sighed, thinking about the legend Zelda had told him. More troublesome was the strange temptation he had standing next to the dark sword, and the voice that he heard but Zelda couldn't.

Kino suddenly began to feel woozy, but it wasn't normal. His vision was becoming blurred, his breathing and heart rate slowing. Kino lied down on the bench and lost consciousness.

* * *

A young man sat in a dark alleyway, watching life move around Castle Town. He bore a strong resemblance to Link, but his hair was a slivery white, his eyes were a dark bloodshot red, and his face maintained a persistent determination. He wore full dark grey heavy armor, with the appearance that they had gone through numerous, endless battles. Sheathed on his back was a rather large two-handed sword, with a slightly wide dark blade and a sharp w-shaped black hilt with an embedded red gem. The warrior stood up, revealing his above average height. He walked through the alleyways with a powerful stance. He avoided contact with the people of the town, as he made his way to a gate leading out of town. Within moments, he approached a grand and massive stone temple in a small grass plain. He remained outside the temple, leaning against the wall beside the double door entrance.

Suddenly he began to look up. He didn't even budge as he saw a robed sorcerer walk towards him. The sorcerer stopped about ten feet from the warrior. Without even exchanging words, the sorcerer began throw spheres of magic at the warrior. The warrior without hesitation unsheathed his large sword and easily deflected them. He slammed the sword onto the ground, creating a massive wave of power towards the sorcerer. The sorcerer maintained his ground, but his hood went down, revealing a mask on his face. The mask had a bizarre appearance. It was heart-shaped, colorful, had wide-open eyes, and surrounded with spikes.

"You really think that will help," the warrior spoke, revealing his dark, intimidating voice.

"I do actually," the sorcerer chuckled in a slightly high pitched voice.

The sorcerer lifted his arms and suddenly, pink tentacles with iron spikes shot out of the ground and quickly shot towards the warrior. The warrior dodged them at blinding speed. Soon, tentacles were shooting out of the ground everywhere, but the warrior was able to react quickly in order to block or defect the spikes. Suddenly, one caught him in the back, and came out right through the warriors left chest, where his heart was. He stood there, grunting in pain, with his breathing becoming shallow. The sorcerer walked over to the warrior and turned its head sideways to observe the wound. The warrior slowly looked up, revealing his anger. His eyes were now a pupil-less white.

"Damn you," the warrior shot angrily with utmost hatred.

The sorcerer lifted his right hand and clenched it. Suddenly, a massive evil energy surged though the warrior's body, a purple aura surrounding him. He yelled in pain, his voice carrying on for a distance. The aura disappeared, and the warrior slumped forward. The spike violently pulled out, and the warrior collapsed forward onto the ground. A pool of dark red blood formed beneath his body, and he wasn't breathing.

"That was fun," the sorcerer remarked. "We should play some time in the future. I'll even let you play bad guy."

The sorcerer laughed, and then faded away.

Soldiers under the Hyrule flag appeared a moment later, running towards where the warrior fell. When they arrived, the warrior's body had disappeared, with no traces that it had moved or been moved. All that remained was the blood, and the dark sword next to it.

* * *

Kino opened his eyes, only to find himself standing, and suffering from a massive headache. He looked forward with his blurry vision and noticed a sword. His headache prevented him from observing it. He felt a strange pull as he limped over to the sword, until he stood right in front of it.. He was staring at the hilt, but couldn't see it clearly.

_Take it…_

Kino lifted his left hand and was about to close around the hilt, but he hesitated.

_Take it…_

The shallow voice became more urgent. Kino's left hand began to tremble slightly, as he fought the great temptation within him to obey the voice echoing in his head.

_Take it!_

Kino closed his left hand around the hilt. Immediately, he felt a great force of energy travel up his arm and pierced right into his mind. Kino grunted in pain as his headache exploded into unimaginable pain. Without realizing it, both of his hands were on the hilt, and he began to subconsciously pull the sword upwards. He felt energy gather around his feet as the sword slowly came out of its pedestal.

When the sword left the pedestal, Kino stumbled backwards, lost balance, and fell on his back. Kino's headache was gone, but it was replaced with great fatigue. He quickly lost consciousness again, only realizing that he was gripping something in his left hand.


	11. Chapter 10: A Baron Wasteland

**Chapter 10: A Baron Wasteland**

The skies were dark red and indefinitely cloudy. Lightning and thunder went on for ages. Across the ground, everything was lifeless. The trees were burned to a scorched black, and dead bodies were everywhere. In the distance, the remains of a town stood. The stone walls of the town were quickly deteriorating with age. Next to the town, was a large castle, but one of the towers quickly came down with a great cloud of smoke and noise.

Closer to the town, it became visible that there were people still alive, but they were holding pickaxes, hitting at random rocks. They had been forced into hard labor. Watching over them was the shadow guard, those who once were citizens of Hyrule, and defaulted over to Majora's command.

One of the skinny workers fell to his knees, gasping for water. A shadow guard nearby gestured one of his own over and they both grabbed the man by the arms and dragged him. The man yelled for help, but it was hopeless. There was no one to help him, as he was dragged off to the dungeons.

_This is the future under Majora's rule. You wouldn't want that, would you?

* * *

_

Kino woke up, the voice that spoke to him in his dream echoed through his head.

_I'm having way too many dreams like this. This can't be good,_ he thought.

"What do you think Dantius?" a voice near Kino asked.

"I don't know. An even better question would be what the people would think," another voice answered.

Kino began to sit up on what felt like his bed. Sure enough, Kino was in his room. Outside, the sun rose, with the landscape gratefully nothing like what Kino saw in his dream.

"Hang on, he's coming to. Is everything fine?"

The person to the left of his bed was Commander Torran. His face was exhausted, his dark brown eyes were wary, and his brown hair was considerably longer, now at a few inches. To Kino's right was a knight in white armor, with a sword sheathed to his side. He stood tall, his posture unweaving, his face compassionate yet focused at the same time, and his green eyes slowly working, and his slightly long loose brown hair had prematurely turned mostly white, considering the knight was only in his early twenties. He had pointy ears like Kino and Zelda, something Kino rarely saw his entire life.

Kino looked around and took several breaths. He then looked over at Torran. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, we believe that…" the knight began.

"Let's not tell him yet, Danny. He's scared enough as is," Torran interrupted.

"Scared? Scared of what?" Kino asked curiously.

Torran looked at Kino and took a breath. "Look at what you're holding in your left hand."

Kino looked over at his left hand, and found he was holding the sword of the fierce warrior that lived many centuries ago.

"Oh dear Goddesses," Kino gasped.

"Told you," Torran sighed, looking over at Dantius.

Kino stared down, unable to process any thoughts as his mind went numb.

"What happened?" Kino finally managed to force himself to say.

"A guard found you slumped against a wall while on patrol in the underground levels of the castle. They managed to carry you back into your room and notify me and some others on you," Torran explained.

"Oh, then what is he doing here?" Kino looked over at Dantius.

"He just came back from the east escorting a convoy over here," Torran answered.

"A convoy?" Kino asked.

"I can't really tell you what it is," Dantius explained. "You can meet up with the Lieutenant about it later when you feel better."

Zelda entered the room holding a tray of tea and some food. Torran and Dantius took notice and began to leave the room.

"The Lieutenant will be in the throne room," Dantius notified as he left the room.

Zelda laid down the tray on the night stand next to Kino's bed, pulled a chair from a nearby table, and took a seat next to Kino's bed. She looked at Kino with a weak smile on her face. Kino returned an uneasy look.

"I know what you are thinking," Zelda spoke.

Kino nodded slowly. "What does this mean?" Kino asked quietly.

"We don't know," Zelda replied solemnly.

Kino looked up at Zelda. "That knight, Dantius, he said that he and Torran believe something, but wouldn't tell me. What was it?"

"We not sure but…" Zelda hesitated. "We believe that you are the one the dark sword has been waiting for all these years."

Kino looked up at her. "What? But I'm not a warrior, or a hero. Not to mention I'm not-" Kino stopped abruptly, and then stared straight forward, eyes slightly wide open.

"The darkness has its ways of choosing who it wants, regardless of what the person can and can't do," Zelda said. "We will never understand how it truly works."

Kino remained silent for a minute. "Torran and Dantius, they know the story as well?"

Zelda nodded.

Kino took a breath, slowly getting out of bed. He stood firm, lifting the sword with his left hand into the air, observing it. He could feel its power coursing through his arm.

"The guards found this next to you when they found you in the halls." Zelda held out a matching belt that allowed Kino to sheath the sword onto his back. Kino walked over to the large window and watched as the sun continued to rise into the sky.

"I'm going to need time to sort this out," Kino commented. "I'll be in the throne room, there's someone who needs to see me."

As Kino entered the throne room, a lieutenant rose from a bench, walked quickly over to Kino, and gave a salute. The soldier was slightly taller than Kino, nicely decorated, and had dirty blond hair and brown eyes.

"Please, don't do that. I'm not in the military nor higher ranked than you," Kino held up his hand.

"Follow me," the soldier spoke shortly.

Kino followed him through several hallways, and eventually into a cool room with no windows, barely lit by several candles.

"One of our scout groups found this body while on reconnaissance."

The lieutenant walked over to a coffin, with Kino following closely behind. The soldier unlatched the latches, and slowly lifted the lid. In the coffin was Ganondorf's body. Kino observed closely to make sure it was legitimate.

"Hang on, where did your scout team find this?" Kino asked.

"Lying near a stone wall on the eastern fields," the lieutenant answered. "We had to hire some people to guard us while moving the body. The knight that helped us had a keen eye."

Kino examined the massive wound on Ganon's left chest. Even though it was badly stained, it was evident the wound had come from a large piercing weapon.

"That's one hell of a wound," Kino noted. "This definitely wasn't caused by any weapons our side possesses."

Suddenly, Kino suddenly remembered the dream he had the night before, of the warrior who was stabbed exactly in the same area on the chest. The one who killed the warrior, that has to be the one…

"Sir, you okay?"

Kino looked over at the soldier and straightened up. "Yeah. Sorry, bad thought."

"What news did you have since I went out, Lieutenant?" Kino asked as they emerged from the castle's lower floors.

"It's Lieutenant Bryant," the soldier said. "South Hyrule Field and Faron Woods are fine, but the east and west fronts weakening quickly. The Zoras and Gorons are unable to provide aid as they are caught with their own problems."

"Has Ganon's death done anything to help us?" Kino asked.

"Only temporarily call off the attacks. The true leader Majora will rein down on us if we don't think of something quick," Bryant replied quickly.

"Right, well, I'll talk to you later, I need to see someone." Kino turned around.

"Wait, I need to tell you something," Bryant spoke suddenly. "There have been reports of many missing civilians lately, you know why?"

Kino stood still, his back still towards the lieutenant.

"_I don't know how to make this comprehendible, but the enemy have their own among us."_

"Sir?"

Kino took a small gulp. "No, I haven't heard anything yet." Kino looked over his shoulder. "You seem to know a lot."

"Generals have gone missing. We're short on high ranking officers lately. Lower ranked officers are finding themselves pressed into commanding positions," Bryant said. "I…I don't know if you realize this yet but we are finding ourselves in a terrifying and desperate position."

Kino only remained silent as he ascended the castle.

"Lieutenant Bryant is right, we are in a desperate state right now," Zelda told Kino in her private quarters. "It was a miracle that Ganondorf is now truly gone, but our armies are dwindling, Link is missing, and we no longer have a hero to help us. Only a miracle from the Goddesses can save us now."

"So what are we going to do?" Kino asked.

Zelda walked up to Kino and looked into his eyes. "You're going to have to lead Hyrule."

Kino remained silent.

"You may not be a hero, but look enough like the hero to raise any morale left in this kingdom," Zelda explained quietly.

Kino stood up from his chair.

"Do you think this sword would make a difference?" Kino asked, looking over at the hilt of the dark sword.

Zelda's silence indicated she wasn't sure. Kino looked to the side, and left the room. He spent the rest of the day thinking of what to do next. He was now left the responsibility to lead Hyrule through its desperate struggle against Majora. Any battle would be a suicide mission on Hyrule's part. He sat on his comfortable lounge chair, thinking it would probably be the last time he would be physically in comfort. But then he thought about the sword on his back. What could it do?

"Sir?"

Kino looked behind him to find a sage in long dark blue robes walking towards him.

"Please leave me alone, I'm not in the mood right now," Kino requested.

"I'm sorry, but it's urgent," the sage replied.

Kino sighed. "Everything people want to tell me is urgent. Alright," Kino stood up and stood in front of the sage.

"I need you to look outside your window sir."

Kino walked over and looked at the scenery. "Yes, it's a very lovely morning, what about it?"

Kino suddenly felt an extremely heavy object come right down on his head. The next Kino saw was the ceiling of his room, all in extreme blur. He saw the blurry face of the sage looking over him.

"Damn, you are one easy person to get." And the sage chuckled as Kino passed out with a throbbing headache.

**In the middle of a dry, hot desert…**

Kino regained consciousness, only to feel the trails of dried blood down his right cheek, a throbbing head, and two men dragging him across the sand in some desert. It was just after sunset. He heard a wooden gate open, and he was dragged a little further before being dropped harshly onto the warm sand. He heard the men leave, closing and locking the gate. He heard some feet walk across the sand and stopping just short of him. He slowly opened his eyes, slowly coming into vision. Looking down at him were tired faces of some people with innocent eyes. Kino observed his surroundings to find he had been imprisoned in a large containment area. There were mostly young men, although there were a couple elders, and a young girl. There were only a few dozen people among with Kino.

Kino tried to sit up but was held down by a young man about Kino's age.

"Stay down, you can't sit up with that wound on your head."

Kino stayed still, as the girl began to take care of the wound on his head. Kino had just noticed it was the same area where he was struck many months earlier in South Hyrule Field. He saw a green aura from the top corner of his eye, and suddenly, the pain went away. The girl began wiping the blood off Kino's face.

"I didn't know you could do that," a man commented.

The girl only smiled shyly. Kino sat up and thanked her. She gave a small nod.

"Where are we?" Kino asked a young man standing next to him.

"We are in the middle of the Gerudo Desert, in a camp just outside of Arbiter's Grounds," answered the man. "It is a prison, presumably the enemy's. Why are we here? I don't know."

"I've only heard stories, but I'm not sure," another man stated. "I heard they give you the option of either join Majora's cause or face imprisonment and torture until you give in from insanity."

"There have been rumors about that…" a voice spoke up.

The group around Kino slowly dispersed. He got up and began to pace around the area. Many of the people were looking up at him, giving the thought that there were a surprising amount of people who actually knew who he was.

He noticed the girl that helped him, in a darker corner, by herself. He walked over and sat by her. She looked up a bit abruptly, but then gave the same small shy smile. The girl was about thirteen years old, and a bit slender, but her eyes were a very strange goldish-brown, and her long hair was silvery white. She had pointy ears like Kino.

"I…uh…wasn't sure if I thanked you properly back there," Kino started.

"It's ok," she replied.

"May I ask your name?" Kino asked.

"Huh?" The girl's smile disappeared.

"I'm sorry, I just think that it's important for me to know those who help me," Kino explained.

"It's Micaiah."

"That's a nice name."

The girl gave a small smile. "My dad named me from a character in a book. I have it right here." She gave Kino the book.

"There is a girl of the same name in this story that had miracle healing powers, the ability to sense the future, and the courage and bravery to lead an army to liberate her country." Micaiah gave a small grin. "My dad gave me this name because I look like her, only I have pointy ears, and I'm not brave at all…"

"What does your father do?" Kino asked.

"My father was a knight who served under Princess Zelda," she answered. "He…was killed a few years back."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kino mumbled.

"It's ok. I got over it long time ago. My big brother is a knight too, and he takes his job very seriously," Micaiah explained.

"What's his name, I might have met him."

"His name's Dantius."

Micaiah's mood became solemn.

"I was kidnapped from my house only a few hours ago. He is going to be angry when he finds out I'm missing."

The large wooden gate suddenly opened, and armed shadow soldiers marched in. Everybody looked in their direction and became afraid. The soldiers tied all the prisoners' hands and used weapons to force the prisoners to move, including Kino and Macaiah.

The moved throughout the camp, until going through the entrance of what seems to be a circular stadium, only the walls are much thicker and its purpose is not a stadium. Inside the air was much cooler. Kino and the others were forced through many stone corridors, many of them just rebuilt. The group got smaller and smaller as many began to split up. They soon emerged into a prison block. Kino and Micaiah's hands were untied, and they were put into a prison cell only several square feet large. The stone floor was hard and cold, and blood was stained everywhere. The prison block was fairly small and empty, making it a bit easing, but a bit unnerving at the same time because a guard could easily eavesdrop on a conversation through the echoing walls.

"Are we going to die here?" Micaiah asked.

"I don't know…" Kino answered uncertainly.

Many hours went by, and due to the lack of any outside guidance, Kino had lost track of time. Micaiah had fallen asleep, snoring very lightly. Kino himself began to feel sleepy. He yawned, and began to take a nap.

* * *

"_Kino, you're back! Where's Link?"_

"_He's very busy at the castle. Being an important person in the armed forces, you can imagine."_

"_Oh, he promised me he will be back."_

"_He will, once all this is over."_

…

"_Ilia, the soldiers and I have been here for a few days now. I hope you and everyone else don't mind the several soldiers here."_

"_It's ok. After what happened the last time you were here, I'm happy they're here to protect us."_

"_Hey Kino, can you teach me some sword tricks. Link was always too busy."_

"_Sorry Talon, I have to be on guard. Times aren't safe right now."_

"_Aw…"_

"_Hey Ilia, I have to get back on guard. Otherwise-"_

"_Sir, they're here!"_

"_Ilia, get everyone inside, now!"_

_Then out of nowhere, shadow soldiers appeared out of nowhere. The sounds of screams and swords clashing resonated through the air.

* * *

_

Kino gasped and opened his eyes suddenly. He found himself back inside the same prison block before he napped. He noticed Micaiah sitting right in front of him, feet crossed, and staring at him with her gentle eyes.

"What's wrong?" Kino asked.

"You were shaking really bad, and started sweating," Micaiah answered.

"Yeah, I had a bad dream," Kino replied softly. "Terrible time in my life…"

"You were also muttering something," Micaiah also noted. "Something I couldn't understand, but it sounded like a different language."

"Different language? But the only language I know is how I'm talking to you right now," Kino stated.

There was silence for the next few moments.

"You never told me your name," Micaiah said.

"My name is Kinolin, but people call me Kino," Kino answered. "I serve under Princess Zelda. I had recently been given the responsibility of being the Hyrule's 'hero', but so far, it doesn't even look like it at all."

"What's that sword on your back?" Micaiah began to look very nervous. "It's very scary."

"It was…given to me. A…uh…family heirloom," Kino stuttered. However, Kino began to have the suspicion that the young girl may know more than Kino thought, given that she became quite rigid, but he pushed the thought away. Micaiah only remained silent, continuing to look at the hilt of the dark sword on Kino's back with tension.

Three tall shadow soldiers opened and entered the cell. They forced Kino and Micaiah through another set of corridors and hallways, until they reached outside. There were inside the prison's open-air inner circle. Many small, low wooden buildings were built along the walls. There were more holding prison cells, only these are more for temporary use. The group walked towards one of the small buildings, and stopped right in front of the door. One of the soldiers grabbed Micaiah's chin and held it up, observing her face and hair with a creepy smile.

"Hey! Get your hands off her you son of a…oof!" Kino was violently punched right across the left cheek. A small trail of blood began to form from the left corner of his mouth. The soldier then held Kino's chin up and began to observe Kino with his blood red eyes.

"Hm…you look familiar to that hero that died, and you have a massive scar on your right cheek," the soldier remarked. "You must be that hero's friend, aren't you?"

Kino only remained silent.

"Put the girl in there, I want to do something with this guy right here."

"Yes, sir."

Micaiah was pushed into the wooden cell, and they locked the gate.

"So, you're the quiet type, aren't you?

Kino maintained his silence.

The soldier gave a small chuckle. "Majora will be pleased when he finds out you are here. You will be given a choice to join him. If not, you can expect something far worse than this."

The soldier grabbed Kino's head and slammed Kino's left side of his face against the wood wall of the cell. Pressing down on Kino's head, the soldier pushed Kino's left face against the wood, through the whole length of the wall. The soldier's two other buddies laughed menacingly with him. Kino's left face began to ignite in piercing pain as the rough and sharp needles of the wood attacked his face. When it was over, the soldier released Kino's head, and Kino fell down to his knees. The enemy laughed, mocking Kino endlessly.

They soon grabbed him and shoved him into the same cell as Micaiah. Kino fell down to his hands and knees onto the sand, as the cell door behind him was locked. The left side of Kino's face was bleeding quite a bit, from the many scratches of the wall. He experienced a feeling he never felt before. He wanted to kill them, and not in some light manner. He wanted to kill them hard. As the soldiers walked away from the cell door laughing, Kino stood up and walked over to the cell door, and shouted.

"Every one of you goddamn bastards are going to die, every one of you!" Kino shouted at the top of his lungs. This only made the shadow soldiers laugh harder, further boiling Kino's mood.

Kino took a deep breath and looked to the left side, only to find Micaiah sitting against a wall, terrified. Immediately, most of Kino's anger evaporated, and his face softened. He slowly walked over to her. She looked away, but then noticed Kino had calmed down. She wiped a tear from her face, and Kino kneeled down.

"I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that," Kino apologized.

Micaiah didn't move, and then spoke. "When you were walking angrily towards the door and started shouting, I saw the left side of your angry face covered in blood, and you looked like someone who rose to godhood a long time ago."

"Who?"

"The Fierce Deity."

Kino stared at Micaiah in shock. Micaiah looked away, regretting what she had told him.


	12. Chapter 11: Arbiter's Grounds

**Chapter 11: Arbiter's Grounds**

Kino sat against the wall opposite of Micaiah's. Micaiah kept her head down in her arms and knees, and began to once again snore lightly as she slept. Kino observed the outside through the gate, seeing the colors of sunrise in the sky. The cuts on his left cheek had been scabbed, leaving more apparent marks on his face. Soon, Kino lied down on the warm sand and fell asleep from exhaustion.

* * *

"_Bring him here…You are lucky we kept you alive. Sadly, your friends won't share the same fate."_

"_What do you…wait, you can't do that! Can't we just talk about this?"_

"_Talk about what? There's nothing to talk about. Haha, you're thinking there is a way to save your friends, aren't you? Well let me tell you something, hero look-a-like. Majora wants Hyrule to fall, yet you and your buddy back at Castle Town are in our way. What a better way to make you weak than to weaken your will. Line them up!"_

_Prisoners were lined up by the small stream of the village; children, parents, the mayor, and his daughter. A shadow soldier armed with a large spear stood in front of the mayor's daughter. The girl began crying. The general standing next to Kino gave the signal to begin…_

"_No…"_

_The soldier aimed his lance at the teenage girl. He forced the weapon at her with great speed…

* * *

_

"NO!!" Kino jumped right onto his feet, and without hesitation his left arm grabbed the hilt of the dark sword, unsheathed it, and stood in a defensive position, breathing heavily.

He then suddenly noticed that he was back inside the cell. He relaxed his heavy breathing, looked around, and found Micaiah looking at him with her sleepy eyes.

"You were shaking and muttering again," Micaiah said. She laid her eyes on dark sword. "Why didn't they take that?"

"Huh?" Kino had just noticed his weapon hasn't been taken by the guards. "Oh, I don't know."

Kino began hearing footsteps approaching the cell. He quickly sat down and pretended to be asleep. Micaiah did the same.

"…think the mage's spell did enough on that boy?"

"I'm pretty sure. Usually a few hours is good enough to soften them up."

"Wonder what dream that boy had."

"Hehe, must be some traumatic event in his life, that's what normally happens."

The door of the cell opened, and one of the prison guards walked in and gave a hard kick on Kino's right arm.

"Wake up, moron! We're moving unless you want more problems," the guard shouted. The guard tied Kino's hands behind his back, while the guard's partner did the same to Micaiah.

"Wait, why does he still have his weapon?" The guard's partner asked.

"I don't know, maybe the dumbasses that handle the camp up front forgot," the guard answered, irritated.

The guard reached for the hilt of Kino's sword, but couldn't close his hands around it. Something was preventing him from touching it.

"This must be an enchanted weapon. Ah well, our master can handle it," the guard concluded.

Kino was led outside and towards a center platform. On the platform was the circular frame of a large mirror, only the mirror wasn't there. Behind the platform was a massive rock held by massive chains, though it that was all it was, a rock. Maybe it had a purpose once, Kino thought. In front of the platform, a man stood in black robes. The guard stopped Kino behind the man, and forced him down on his knees.

The man turned around and there were some peculiar markings on his face with odd colors.

"Ah, so you're the 'Hero's' friend aren't you?" the mage said. "Shame he isn't around anymore to help Hyrule."

The mage looked at the mirror frame. "You know, Majora's tribe sealed him away thinking he was dangerous. The irony of that is they got imprisoned themselves a bit later, only they can't return to this world. Majora can."

Despite the mature words, the mage began giggling in a scaringly childish manner.

"They called the sorcerer who used Majora's Mask selfish, but that same tribe went for the same ultimate power as him anyways. More irony. But I'm not here to tell you a story. I'm here to make you an offer you see."

Kino began to notice his anger was welling up inside him.

"What if I told you your friends were alive?" the mage asked.

"Huh?" Kino became confused and caught of guard.

"The village? What if I told you they were alive?" Majora asked again.

"They can't be alive, I saw your men execute them right in front of me." Kino's voice became slightly harsh. He began struggling to hold his anger.

"But that's all an illusion you see. It's amazing how the power of illusions and manipulation can do to mortal minds," the mage remarked. "I'll make you a deal, you swear to my service, and you will receive power you've never imagined, and you will see those friends of yours again."

"Proof," Kino demanded.

"Lord, if I may?" The guard holding Kino broke in. "He has this sword that I, for some reason, can't take it off him."

The mage glanced at the sword over Kino's shoulder, and then began to observe it carefully.

"I think I may have seen this somewhere before…" he started, but then ignored the sword.

He looked at Kino's face. "So what's your choice? Oh yes, if you refuse, you die, because I like it that way." The mage began laughing in a high pitch.

Kino was having difficulty paying attention. He had just noticed his anger was at the losing point, but there was something else, a great feeling of distrust.

Kino looked up. "No."

"Ah, that's such a shame."

Kino couldn't hold his anger anymore. Just as he was about to try and break his way free, a bolt of lighting struck and electrified Kino. Kino gasped, his eyes wide from pain. The attack left a fatal wound on Kino's abdomen, and he fell back onto the ground. Kino began to breathe shallowly, as the mage laughed again in a high pitched voice.

"You know, you look like someone Majora killed a long time ago," the mage noted.

Kino's mood continued to boil, but the fatal wound prevented him from doing anything.

"Dump him in the desert," the mage ordered. Kino was dragged on his back by two guards.

"Now about that girl…" Kino heard the mage say.

Kino felt himself dragged endlessly. He was dragged on stone flooring for quite a while, and then felt himself dragged across sand in the unimaginable heat and sun for what felt like hours. Soon Kino was dropped on the sand, and the men ran back to the prison.

Kino lied on the hot sand for a minute before struggling onto his feet. He looked around, only to find himself in the middle of what seems to be an endless desert. He limped through the desert with his right hand over his wound. Kino went on aimlessly for what seemed like an hour, before the heat felt far more intense from the unmerciful strength of the sun. Kino's vision began to severely blur, and his strength quickly began to diminish. He began coughing heavily and fell down onto the sand. He thought he saw a mesa just ahead, but it could be just an illusion. Seeing his wound still bleeding somewhat, he passed out.

* * *

"You think he is healthy enough to return now?"

"Yes. He looks so much like the Hero who passed through this cave few years ago, yet this child has endured so many injuries."

"He is no ordinary child is he?"

"No, he isn't."

"We'll give him the Great Fairy's Blessings and take him back up to the spring…"

* * *

**Faron Woods**

Kino woke up on his back on the water of a shallow spring. The sound of the waterfall the chirping birds was vastly different from the desert winds. Kino opened his eyes, finding the sun up a couple hours past midday and the scenery quite beautiful. The cool water flowed around his body, helping soothe the slight body aches he had.

"Sir, there's an unconscious person over here."

Kino heard footsteps enter the water. Kino looked over to his left side to find a Hyrulian soldier and the white knight Dantius looking down at him.

"Good lord, what happened to you?" Dantius asked, surprised by the marks on Kino's left face.

Kino sat up, noticing he was at the spring of the Spirit of Light Faron. Floating around the waterfall were numerous small fairies. Kino took notice of the bandage wrapped around his abdomen.

"How did I get here?" Kino asked.

"That's what I was about to ask you," Dantius responded. "What happened to your face?"

"I was held prisoner," Kino answered. "They tried to get me to join Majora's cause. I refused, and they caused this wound here and left me to die. I passed out and here I am all the way over here."

"We need to get you back to Hyrule Castle right away," Dantius said quickly. "Princess Zelda and the people need to know you're safe and alive."

"Dantius, there's something you need to know. You have a sister named Micaiah, correct?" Kino asked.

Dantius suddenly came to full attention and made full eye contact with Kino.

"You know where she is?" Dantius asked upright.

Kino nodded. "I was held prisoner with her, at Arbiter's Grounds in the Gerudo Desert. I don't know what happened to her since the guards left me to die in the desert."

Dantius gave a sigh and closed his eyes. "At least I know where she is."

"I need to go somewhere," Kino said abruptly.

"Huh?"

"It won't be far." Kino began heading southwards towards Ordon Village. Kino continued past Ordona's Spring, past Link's house, and into the village. It was completely deserted. Kino stood at the stream near Colin's house, the very spot where Kino was held and had to watch his friends die. He stood completely still, enduring the memory from the very spot.

Kino looked down, eyes closed. "I'm sorry…" He said.

Kino only stood longer, thinking only of the memories he had in the village, in the short time he was there. He closed his eyes, and immediately felt a massive headache.

* * *

_He stood in the middle of a dry desert. The desert winds began to pick up, causing near-blind visibility, yet he can see where he is going for. He stood just outside a camp, with a large sandstone structure behind it. It was a prison camp, and he continued up to the camp until stopping just short of it. The sandstorm hid him from view of any guards. He closed his eyes, and began using some strange supernatural power; the ability to sense every being in the camp, and in the stone structure. He soon became disappointed, as he did not find the person he was looking for. He sighed._

"_The child is not here…" he thought to himself in a demonic voice.

* * *

_

Kino found himself on ground yet again. He sat up, becoming irritated by the countless times he had found himself on the ground. Suddenly, a sharp pain began to clutch his chest. Kino held his right hand over his left chest, and began to cough profusely. Kino could hardly think, but gradually the pain went away. Kino stood up, tried to shake the feeling off and noticed it was sunset. He quickly made his way back into the woods.

Dantius was sitting by Faron's Spring when Kino came. Dantius stood up and walked up to Kino.

"You have been gone for a while," Dantius noted. "I don't believe I had ever introduced myself properly. I'm Dantius, white knight sworn under oath to Princess Zelda. Casually, people call me Danny."

"Kinolin," Kino said. "Uh…I don't have a title unfortunately, or at least none that I know of. I've been stabbed and injured many times, kidnapped, have to serve as a symbol to the people since Link's disappearance, and I'm from Termina."

"Termina? That's some place I haven't heard of before. Where is it?" Dantius asked.

"Far west of here. West of the Gerudo Desert," Kino answered. Kino suddenly began feeling homesick. Talking about Termina made him miss his foster family.

"Are you okay?" Dantius waved his hand in front of Kino's face. "You look like you just went brain-dead."

"Yeah, I do that a lot, sorry," Kino said. "I get lost in my thoughts a lot, with recent events and everything."

"We will stay near a post in these woods, then we will head to the castle tomorrow."

"Alright."

"May I ask, sir?" Dantius asked abruptly.

"Go ahead," Kino signaled.

"That sword, where did you get it?" Dantius began to sound very nervous; a strange thing considering Dantius had amazing composure.

"Uh…family heirloom," Kino stuttered.

"Oh…right" Dantius sounded like he brushed it off, but it noticeable that he knew Kino was lying.

They arrived at a wooden building with a moderately tall watch tower. It was located just before the entrance to south Hyrule Field. There were actually two buildings: one with the watch tower and one that was really run-down and poorly looked after. Kino had his own small room with a bed, nightstand, and a small desk with chair. It was somewhat poorly lit by candles, but the moonlight coming through the window made up for it. He noticed that the full moon had remained that way for quite a while, but it wasn't the first time it had happened, though it had gotten strangely bright. Kino continued to look at the moon, admiring its beauty. He took off his sword and holding belt, and left it beside the bed. He lied down on his bed, and fell asleep.

* * *

_The ruins of the obliterated prison in the desert surrounded him. He only stood there, allowing the dust to settle as the sun just began to rise across the horizon. Every wall was blasted through, every guard killed. He walked towards a young girl dusting off her dress. She looked up at him and gasped. She immediately kneeled down to him._

"_I am looking for someone, my child," he stated.  
_

"_Who, my lord?" the girl asked._

"_I'm certain you know who," he replied._

"_I don't know where he is," the girl answered. "I think he may have been taken to the desert and left to die."_

_He turned around and looked south, deep into the horizon.

* * *

_

Kino opened his eyes only to find himself been shaken awake by Dantius.

"Finally! You have any idea how long it took me to get to you to wake up? We have an emergency right now!" Dantius yelled, his face slightly red from irritation.

Kino without any hesitation jumped out of bed, grabbed his sword and ran to catch up with Dantius. They were heading north, into morning Hyrule Field, and then immediately northeast. After some time they soon came across dry, red-rock cliffs, and headed into the ravine dividing the cliffs. Within moments they arrived at a small, rusty village nested along the thin canyon. Kino and Dantius finally slowed their pace and came up to an officer standing next to a hut, located near a water spring.

"They are up north," the officer reported. "It's more massive than Ganon's army. They haven't launched their assault yet, but we are ready."

Kino and Dantius headed up the narrow canyon town, past the town gate, and into the eastern side of Hyrule Field. There, the army stood in their positions, armed and ready. Kino and Dantius were positioned at the front for almost the entire the day and then night fell. They decided to camp for the night, and everyone went to bed, with no light present. It was obvious a battle will not be possible in pitch black. Kino slept in his own tent during the night, as the full moon rose yet again. A peculiar thing, since the moon remained full for a while now. His night was dreamless for once, but he suddenly woke up to a shrilly voice in his head.

"Come to the fields…"

Kino exited his tent, his left hand holding his sword. He walked northward, deeper into the field.

"Keep going…"

Kino stopped. He wasn't sure about trusting the voice. It was very suspicious, and very strange. Yet, he pressed on, until the camp he came from was no longer in sight.

"That is good…"

Kino stopped and waited. The full moon lit the area around him, allowing him to partially see what was going on. He suddenly noticed a large object floating towards him from the north. He armed his sword and braced. As the object came closer, it began to reveal its features, which were the most bizarre colors and wide-open eyes. It was Majora's Mask.

"You..." Kino said quietly in disgust.

"I'm surprised you decided to listen and come all the way out here," Majora giggled. "At last we meet. I think you have had more than enough time to be alive. You should have died along with your friend long time ago."

Kino lifted his sword with his left arm. The sword gleamed in the moonlight and looked like a dark shadow with no features in the night. Majora looked very interested in the sword, as if it had seen it before. Majora quickly shrugged it off however.

"A nice weapon," Majora started. "However, I highly doubt a mere mortal can take on me."

Kino felt the power of the dark sword course through his left arm, and into his chest. His chest began to hurt with an empty feeling again, and his head began to ache slightly. He continued to stand firm, holding the sword high. Majora only continued to stare at Kino.

"I hope you die quickly, child. It will be fun." Majora began to laugh hysterically in a high pitch and lifted up its tentacles. Majora then suddenly stopped laughing, and looked at Kino in the eye.

"Begin."


	13. Chapter 12: East Hyrule Field

**Chapter 12: East Hyrule Field**

Kino charged at Majora, hurling the dark sword at him. However, Majora suddenly vanished just as the sword was about to make contact. Kino regained his balanced, and looked around quickly, only to find nothing. Kino suddenly heard hysterical laughter through the air.

"It's so amusing that everyone does the same thing at the start of a fight, charge and attack," Majora noted.

Kino grew slightly irritated at the comment. He suddenly felt a major instinct and whirled around, barely blocking a spike flying at him. There stood Majora, and Kino quickly ran towards it, only for Majora to float higher, preventing Kino from ever reaching it. Majora's laughter continued. Kino noticed that the large dark sword's power was beginning to influence his left arm, as his left arm began to tremble slightly, and held a firm grip on the hilt.

_Kill it…_

Kino suddenly became unnerved by the shallow demonic voice that suddenly came into his head. He tried to push it out of his mind, but found it impossible as an uncontrollable anger began to build up from within him.

Dantius walked though the camp, towards Kino's tent. The fire near the tent burned out, signaling that he might have went to bed. He opened up the tent, only to find Kino missing. He walked throughout the entire camp, but couldn't find Kino anywhere. He went outside the camp and looked at the scenery lit by the bright moonlight. He thought he heard swords clashing towards the middle of the field, and ran back to the camp and woke up some of the soldiers.

Kino kneeled down as his head suffered a piercing headache and an unfathomable anger. Majora stared quizzically at him, leaving itself open. Kino's headache suddenly cleared, and he looked up at Majora with eyes of determination and stood up. Without any thought, Kino lifted his sword and threw it like a spear. The sword traveled through the air with unimaginable speed, and before Majora could react at all, the sword's tip broke right through the center of the mask. Kino jumped high in the air, grabbed the hilt, and brought Majora into the ground. With the mask lying flat, Kino pushed down the sword, mounting the pressure as the dark sword's power began to eat away at the mask.

"Fool!" Majora shrieked. "That power isn't enough!"

A bright golden light suddenly blinded Kino. Kino began to yell in pain as he was engulfed in what felt like unlimited strength traveling through his veins. He felt his mind beginning to crumble from possible corruption. It was power a mere mortal cannot handle. Kino struggled to open his eyes in the light, and found Majora crying in agony, as vertical cracks began to from across the mask. The mask dramatically shattered in half, and Majora's cry abruptly ended. The light around Kino slowly faded away. He stood over the broken large mask, clutching his left arm as it burned and shuddered in pain. He fell backward from total exhaustion, only to be caught by someone. He looked up and found Dantius looking down at him.

"Good lord, what happened to your eyes?" Dantius asked.

Kino only shut his eyes and his head slumped to the side, but not after seeing what appeared to be a spirit floating off into the distance.

* * *

Kino opened his eyes to find himself lying down in a tent. He slowly sat up and left his tent, finding most of the camp disappeared. Kino found Dantius napping against a tent opposite from Kino's. Kino walked over to Danitus under the afternoon sun and woke him up. He reluctantly opened his eyes, stretched, and stood up.

"I see you are awake," Dantius greeted. "Who is going to ask the question first?"

Kino shrugged.

Dantius only give a small sigh. "I found you missing when walking around the camp. I woke up a few people so we can search for you. Just as we left the camp, a great golden light as bright as the sun blinded us from the direction of the field for the next several moments. When it ended, we ran towards it. I noticed you were standing in the middle of the field, with your sword in your hand. We ran over and I caught you just before you fell onto the ground. When you looked up at me, there was something rather…disturbing"

"What was it?" Kino asked.

"The iris of your eyes, they were a bloodshot color," Dantius answered.

"Bloodshot…" Kino repeated.

Dantius did another stretch and yawned. "We better get going, the Princess will be expecting you, and there will be a celebration planned once everything winds down."

"Celebration?"

"Yes, you defeated Majora, did you not?" Dantius smiled.

"I'm…not too sure. It didn't feel like it," Kino commented.

"You're probably just confused," Dantius suggested.

"Yeah, I think so…"

"There is something else you need to know," Dantius stated. He pointed at the back of Kino's left hand. Kino looked and his eyes widened. A dark mark was engraved on the back of his left hand, the symbol of the Triforce. Kino looked up at Dantius, in complete surprise. Dantius only had an excited look on his face.

"That blinding light was because of you wasn't it?" he asked.

"I…I haven't seen this before. I never had this mark," Kino tried to explain.

"You must have been blessed by one of the Goddesses during your battle with Majora," Dantius explained. "You are truly special for a goddess to bless you. And uh…you do realize that you are still carrying that sword."

Kino looked down and quickly sheathed his dark sword. He remained silent for the rest of the time as he and Dantius packed up the camp and began heading west towards Castle Town. He kept looking down at the back of his left hand, unable to understand why he received such a blessing. Thousands of possibilities ran through his mind. He could be a chosen one, he could be a favorite, or maybe fate gave him this. Either way, it would leave him uncomfortable for the rest of the day. The two swordsmen arrived at the gates of Castle Town at sunset. The town was mostly empty, something Kino was grateful for. They entered and traversed the castle without much difficulty other than the occasional excited soldier congratulating both Kino and Dantius on a safe return.

"Here is the Princess' private chamber. You are free to enter, good day." Dantius headed down and disappeared from the hallway.

Kino slowly opened the door and quietly entered Zelda's room. She was sitting in front of a mirror, apparently staring aimlessly. Kino slowly walked over to her, stopping just after the point when Zelda can see his reflection off the mirror. Zelda looked up at the mirror and gasped. She turned round, bolted straight up to Kino and gave an embracing hug. She only remained silent as if she might be crying. Kino put his arms around her in return. She soon released her grip and looked at him. She had no tears but had a huge smile on her face.

"You have returned," Zelda said gratefully.

"Sorry I had been gone for a while," Kino replied, smiling back.

"You must be exhausted, do you need anything?" Zelda asked.

"No, I'll be fine, I just need to get some sleep," Kino answered.

Zelda looked at him for another moment with a cheerful mood, then changed into one of concern. "Kino, your face, it's-"

Kino held up his hand, signaling her to stop. "Please, I already have enough people asking me about injuries. Don't let it add to your concerns. I must be leaving now, I need to rest."

Zelda gave a quick kiss to Kino's cheek and left the room. Kino was unable to anything for the rest of the day, and even forgot about dinner. He sat at his desk in his room for what felt like an endless hours. He stared at the Triforce mark on the back of his left hand, thinking of every moment that happened during the fight against Majora; the sword's influence, the blinding light, that hallow voice. Kino became so lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice Zelda entering his room. She carried a tray of food to his desk and placed it next to him. She took a chair from a nearby table and sat down next to Kino.

"You didn't come to the dinner tonight, so I brought some for you," Zelda said gently.

"Huh, what the-" Kino became startled, finally noticing Zelda. "Oh, yeah, I appreciate that."

"Is there something troubling you?" Zelda asked.

"Well, I can do what everyone normally does and say no, but that answer definitely won't work will it?" Kino smirked. Zelda returned a small smile. "You've heard about my supposed victory against Majora."

"Yes," Zelda answered.

"The thing is, I didn't feel…victorious, and I swear I saw a spirit float away just when I was about to pass out," Kino explained. "There is another thing equally important. I…heard a voice in my head during the fight."

"A voice?" Zelda became curious.

"Yeah, it was a shallow, demonic kind of voice. What scared me was how obedient I was to it," Kino explained. "Do you know what I am talking about?"

Zelda shook her head.

"I think it might be this sword," Kino motioned to the sword on his back. "You never told me much about it. Are there…things you aren't telling me?"

"Another time," Zelda answered.

Kino sighed in disappointment. "Something came over me and all of the sudden I was literally destroying Majora. A blinding light came as Majora was on the ground, and this mark came."

Kino showed Zelda the Triforce on the back of his left hand. Zelda gave a small gasp and held the bottom of his hand with her warm fingers. She gazed at it for a few moments and looked up.

"Can you explain how I got this?" Kino asked.

"It is a blessing from the Goddess. It is likely you were chosen, Kino, as a hero of Hyrule to defeat Majora," Zelda said.

"A hero," Kino repeated. "But I can't be a hero, I'm just a swordsman who only defeated Majora."

"It's alright, it came very sudden." Zelda closed her eyes and placed her hands around the Triforce mark on Kino's hand. "I feel…enormous power coursing through you. You don't feel it, but it is there. You have the power to single-handedly conquer kingdoms if you choose, or mercilessly slay anyone who dare oppose who you choose to defend." Zelda opened her eyes. "You have the Triforce of Power."

Kino gapped at her in total disbelief. "What!?" He stared blankly, slowly calming himself down. "I...Ganondorf had Triforce of Power, didn't he?"

Zelda nodded. "I'll leave your food here. I'll leave you alone so I won't overwhelm you any further tonight. We will be planning a celebration on the kingdom's victory once the war ends. You are certainly going to attend aren't you? You are now Hyrule's new hero."

Kino gave a small nod. Zelda hugged Kino with the same soft smile, got up, and left the room. Kino barely ate any of the food Zelda had left him. He spent his entire night in bed, lost and confused in his thoughts. He only stared at the full moon outside his window.

* * *

Several weeks had past before the unofficial war against Majora's army finally ended. The next week was spent on preparations for the celebration on Hyrule's victory against two major threats in a short amount of time. It was to be held in the massive courtyard of the castle. The raised area leading up to the castle front doors would serve as the stage for prominent figures to deliver their words. The weather was perfect, and the sunset had arrived when everyone began their celebrations, and their drinking. Kino remained inside the castle, apparently fearing a mob would form to endlessly praise him. He was dressed in traditional Hyrule White Knight armor, similar to what Dantius wears.

"Kino, you should be in the courtyard, not in your room," Zelda pointed out.

Kino looked behind him and stood up from his chair. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm not very good with people."

Zelda observed Kino, the same warm-hearted smile forming on her face. "Your face looks a lot better."

"Wounds take time to heal right?" Kino chuckled.

"Yes, and you look very handsome in that armor," Zelda admired.

"Yeah, well I bet there are lots of dashing young men who look far better than me," Kino chuckled weakly.

Zelda only giggled. "It's the first time I had said that to anyone."

"Oh, right. Um…" Kino started, beginning to blush, but Zelda interrupted.

"It's alright. I know how you are," she said. She walked over to Kino's side, and rested her head on his right shoulder.

"We should be heading to the courtyard," Kino reminded her.

"Of course. Follow me." Zelda held Kino's hand and led him out of his room and to the front castle courtyard.

Kino sat at the same table as Dantius and Commander Torran. Kino had a dazed off look the entire dinner.

"Kino, is there something wrong?" Dantius asked.

Kino looked out at the crowd of people. "I'm receiving a high honor, but those people don't know me. I'm just a stranger to them. I have never spoken to them. I'm just a swordsman who happens to defeat Majora."

"Link was the same story, only it was Ganondorf. The people didn't know him that much either until he earned his knighthood from Princess Zelda. Don't worry too much, I'm sure they will not mind their pessimistic hero earning a knighthood title from Princess Zelda," Dantius explained.

"You seem pretty cheerful considering we haven't found your sister yet," Kino noted.

"Yeah, it puts my mood down a bit," Dantius admitted. "I just know she is alive and safe out there, somewhere."

"Hey Danny, has anybody ever asked you about your appearance before?" Torran asked. "You know, just curious, since green eyes and premature white hair are very peculiar things."

"My eyes aren't green anymore," Dantius pointed out.

Torran immediately observed Dantius. "By the Goddess, you're right. They're darkish blue! How did that happen?"

Dantius pulled out a small case and opened it. Inside were two concave lenses with green irises. "Contact lenses, recent development from the medical people for use in occupations that can cause mishaps to normal glasses. These don't work though, just for eye color change."

Kino felt a light tap on his left shoulder and found Zelda standing behind him.

"We're about to begin," Zelda whispered.

Kino signaled Dantius and Torran to follow him. They followed Zelda to the side of the steps leading to the wide area just before the front doors of the castle. Many people were either seated or standing in front, waiting patiently. Zelda walked up to the raised area and gave her speech to the seated crowd. She only spoke for a couple minutes, thanking everyone from civilians to the lowest ranking soldiers, before calling names of generals and other honorable soldiers. Kino and the other two were seated at the front row, on the left side. The medal ceremony went on for half an hour, with half the crowd beginning to doze off towards the end.

With all the medals awarded, Zelda cleared her soft voice and spoke up, "Will Kino of Termina please come forward?"

Kino snapped out of his sleepy state and looked around. Most of the crowd had a curious look on their faces. Dantius nudged Kino on the shoulder, signaling him to get moving. Kino slowly walked up the front steps, trembling slightly.

"He's not very good at being in front of people is he?" Kino heard Dantius asked.

"Yes, he isn't like Link personality wise," Torran agreed.

Kino stood facing Zelda, feeling the pressure of a whole courtyard watching him.

"Kino of Termina, in the past few months, your efforts, no matter how minute you think of them, has resulted in your victory against the evil Majora, leader of the enemy forces. For your efforts to the kingdom, I, Princess Zelda, hereby proclaim you a Royal Knight of the Kingdom of Hyrule."

The crowd gave large applause, far more enthusiastic than during the medal ceremony. Kino couldn't help having a big smile on his face and waving to the crowd.

"Traditionally, Royal Knights are given a special medal upon receiving the honor, but in addition to that, we would like you to also receive this special gift." Zelda motioned a small group of knights forward; two carry the sides of a slightly large case, and one ready to open it. Kino and Zelda stepped out of the way as they made their way across the area. They stopped in front of Kino, with the case pointed and angled partially to the crowd so the audience could see. One of the knights opened case, and in it was a sterling set of armor. It was a dark red and black tunic with a matching floppy hat, and golden colored armor for the boots, arms, chest, and shoulder plates. A matching golden belt and crown completed the set, and there were few dark green gems through out the armor. The crown was similar to Zelda's, though it had a leaf design in the middle and a dark green gem embedded in the lower section of the leaf as opposed to the blue gem in Zelda's crown. The armor carried a theme consistent with Hyrule royalty, something fitting for a prince.

The crowd became startlingly silent, as did the environment. Kino looked over at the crown to find everybody staring and him and Zelda. Dantius sat completely still while Torran gapped at them.

"Is there something wrong with the crowd?" Kino whispered to Zelda.

Without moving her head, she looked over at the audience, then back at Kino. She shook her head.

Kino took a deep breath and chuckled. "I don't feel very…"

"Please, accept it," Zelda said aloud.

Kino looked down at the crown in the case. Slowly he reached and took the crown out of the case. He looked at the magnificent emerald and slowly placed the crown on his head. Immediately Zelda ran up and hugged him with a huge smile. The audience erupted into massive cheers and applause, leaving Kino confused.

"Okay, I have no idea what is going on, but I'm thinking it is going well," Kino smiled.

Zelda led Kino off to the side where Dantius and Torran met with them.

"Congratulations," Dantius shook hands with Kino.

"For what?" Kino asked. "Sorry if I'm a little slow, but I don't know what just happened."

"You just made a commitment with Princess Zelda," Dantius explained. "Well, it's not an engagement, but a commitment to a forever lasting relationship with the Princess."

"Oh I see," Kino grinned at Zelda. "Well, let's enjoy the rest of our night, shall we?"

* * *

Dantius entered his room late that night, well after the celebration. He noticed a young girl standing in the archway of his window, staring upwards towards the intense light of the full moon. As he approached the girl, he noticed she had silvery-white hair.

"Micaiah!?" Dantius exclaimed, losing half his breath.

Micaiah looked back at Dantius, and then gazed back up at the moon again. "Hi Danny."

"How did you get here? Did someone find you?" Dantius asked.

Micaiah remained still. Dantius walked over, turned her around, and kneeled down. Her face was rather pale and slightly scared. "Just tell me what is wrong. I'll help you take care of it," Dantius assured.

"I saw him," Micaiah said softly, after a moment's silence.

"Saw who?" Dantius asked.

Micaiah kept her head down, looking towards the moonlight.

"Good lord…" Dantius spoke barely audibly as he suddenly came to a realization.

"He wants us to do something," Micaiah said. He wants us to keep an eye on someone." She went over to Dantius' ear and whispered the name.

"Of course." Dantius stood up and slowly walked out of the room. Micaiah walked back to the window, and began to pray.


	14. Chapter 13: Hyrule Castle

**Chapter 13: Hyrule Castle**

"Everything all right?" a person chimed in. Kino and Dantius were seated at a large table.

"All good, thank you," Kino called, rolling his eyes. "I definitely do not like being a noble. Things were so much easier when my brother kept annoying me."

"Welcome to the nobility," Dantius said. "You should wear that crown you have. It matches that armor of yours."

"I am a commoner from Termina, not the Prince of Hyrule," Kino retorted. "Only a prince can wear that crown."

"Don't worry too much. The crown is not strictly for a prince. Besides, it will look good on you," Dantius said. "Did you say you have a brother?"

"Oh yeah, that's right. I never told anybody about my foster family in Termina except for…well, except for Link," Kino's voice softened. Dantius looked down and gave a small nod.

"I never knew my real family. Whoever left me as a baby was really good at finding foster parents that actually look like they are my parents. My little foster brother, if you can him that, was named Cannon. He looked kinda like me, minus the pointy ears. He always a kind of a rebel, looked like one too. Always talked about being a bloody pirate and traveling beyond the Great Bay, living on an island, and finding a giant castle under the water. He loved to fantasize, unlike me in which I am realistic to the point of dullness." Kino smiled a bit at the story.

Dantius chuckled. "What about your foster parents?"

"Best parents I can imagine," Kino answered. "There isn't much to describe them other than they are very supporting of me, and I am truly grateful for that. Just before I left with Link to head to Hyrule, my mother had to break it to me that she and my dad weren't really my parents. It was truly a shocker, but I loved them nevertheless."

Kino suddenly felt himself warping out of the room, into one of his memories, to his home. His foster mother was standing right in front of him.

"_We adopted you," his mother said. "We found you on our doorstep 17 years ago with a letter asking that we raise you with care…like real parents. Even though you aren't actually our son, we raised you like one."_

_She pulled out an envelope. "This is the letter right here." She opened it, pulled out the letter, and handed it to Kino._

Kino suddenly fazed back into the present time, with Dantius waving his hand in front of Kino. "You alright buddy? You look like you had a lapse or something," Dantius noted.

"Excuse me," Kino got up from the table abruptly and walked out of the room. With great determination he walked straight to his room. He opened a wooden wardrobe and stood on a step to search the upper storage. There was a collection of a few possessions he took with him from Termina, all of which are now covered in dust due to a long neglect. Kino reached towards the back and pulled out a dusty letter. He blew at the letter, and coughed at the flying dust. He stepped back onto the floor and slowly opened the letter. He skipped immediately to the last paragraph and read it.

He lowered the letter, and the first thing that caught his sight was the dark sword, resting against the wall inside the wardrobe. Kino immediately began to feel very sick in the stomach. He wheeled around, only to find Zelda standing right in front of him.

"Oh, hi Zelda," Kino greeted.

"More thoughts?" Zelda asked with a small smile.

"Um…yes," Kino admitted.

"We best be going."

Zelda walked out of his room, and Kino followed after carelessly tossing the letter back into the wardrobe. He followed her throughout the castle until heading outside to the front courtyard. The celebration a couple nights prior was mainly for the wealthier people. Today is the day set for the common citizens to meet Kino. As they walked past the large castle wall door, the proceeded down a slope towards the center of Castle Town with the royal guards up front. Dantius joined to the side of Kino.

"Why did you randomly run off?" Dantius asked.

"Very important memory hit me," Kino answered shortly.

"Please, put this on," Zelda broke in. With both her hands she presented the golden crown with the emerald gem that she wanted Kino to have during the celebrations. He looked up at her and shook his head, but Zelda insisted. She placed the crown on his head.

There were scores of people crowded around the fountain in the center of Castle Town. The sun was high in the cloudless sky, and the weather proved marvelous for the occasion. The event wasn't supposed to be some special celebration. It was more of a casual meeting between Kino and the townspeople, including the exchange of many questions and greetings.

"Citizens of Hyrule," Zelda began to the audience. "I would like to introduce you to the hero who defeated the leader of the opposing forces during our latest crisis. Without his triumphs, we would have emerged from the opposition in an unbearable state. We were blessed by the Goddesses to have him among us. It is my honor to introduce Kino to you."

The crowd applauded, and Kino returned a weak and nervous smile. The next couple of hours were spent with Kino meeting the citizens of Hyrule. Kino found he was fairly popular among the common citizens despite his sudden status as a prominent figure. A light use of eavesdropping led to a hidden belief that Kino is a perfect match for Zelda. He tried to push the thought out of his head to prevent blushing. As the event drew to a close, Kino walked up the northern slope and faced the audience, which became quiet.

"I would like to thank all of you for welcoming me," Kino began. "It isn't easy for a foreigner like me to suddenly become an important figure for the people. However, I hope that I will prove worthy of the standards that you hold me by."

The crowd began applauding again, as Zelda came to his left side and held his hand. Kino and Zelda began waving to the crowd, and cheering was added to the applause. It felt as though the cheering went on for well over a minute. Kino put on a much more confident smile as he eyed the crowd, but something suddenly overcame him…

Without even a thought, Kino suddenly lifted his left hand and swiped an arrow right at the shaft, stopping it just a couple inches from his face. Within a couple seconds, he eyed down at the arrow in his hand, then towards the direction of where it came from. Standing on top of the stone shop building on the southeast corner of the square, kneeled a silhouetted person with a longbow. As if time suddenly slowed down, Kino noticed the crowd suddenly stopped applauding with confused looks. Another instinct took hold of him, and he looked just to his right, to the southwest this time. He could see another silhouetted person, this time standing near a café in front of stone doors, aiming with his longbow. As the bowman let the arrow pierce through the sky, Kino barely dove out of the way. The crowd, now fully aware of the situation, scattered in panic. As Kino rolled on the ground, the royal guard immediately got him on his feet and began pushing him and Zelda towards the castle. Dantius ran at Kino's side with his sword drawn, looking around for any more potential assassins. As they approached the large doors of the castle walls, the brigade suddenly stopped. The men guarding the doors were on the ground dead. Standing in front of them were shadowy rouges, armed with a sword on one hand and a dagger on another. The royal soldiers unsheathed their swords. Kino and Zelda took a couple steps back.

The rouges charged with blinding speed and almost single-handedly, the guards standing in front of Kino and Zelda fell with blood gushing everywhere. Kino and Zelda looked at each other and without hesitation grabbed the swords of the fallen soldiers. Kino immediately slashed will sheer force through the assassin heading straight at him while Zelda was more defensive. Dantius and the remaining guards standing with them engaged the others. Within a minute, the last of the rouges fell.

"Come on, we need to get to the castle and sound the alarm," Dantius called.

Kino bolted for the large doors with the others, but he suddenly became extremely exhausted. He began to stumble, and his head and eyes became very heavy. He could barely see Dantius looking back at him and shouting "We need to help him!" Kino collapsed onto the stone floor and blacked out.

_Kino stood alone in the middle of a field with fog surrounding him. The full moon was overhead, barely breaking through the fog. Only the light sound of mist could be heard. Kino was shivering, and he could see his own breath in the frigid air. He just stood with his arms wrapped together, staring aimlessly. He felt cold, alone, and scared._

"_Soon..."_

_Kino became alert, and looked around for where the demonic voice came from._

"_We will find you…"_

_Kino became frigid and swallowed. He had heard that voice before, several months back in another dream, somewhere…_

Kino opened his eyes and found himself in his bed, his heart pounding slowly. His room was well lit by the afternoon sunlight. He closed his eyes again and tried to remember what he dreamed about. It was a foggy memory now. A hand reached over him and felt his forehead, then retracted. Zelda was seated next to his bed.

"You're awake," Zelda said softly. "You were fidgeting and suffered a light fever."

Kino slowly sat up on his bed and looked at Zelda. He did not ask what happened when he passed out. Zelda laid her right hand on Kino's left chest, and a soft white glow surrounded the hand. Kino felt warmth and relief inside him, easing him of any tension. The glow disappeared and Zelda looked up at Kino.

"What happened?" Kino quietly asked.

"You passed out," Zelda explained. "We thought you were injured. Gratefully, you did not have any injuries, but you began having a slight fever. The guards are on alert now and searching for the assassins."

Kino gave a small nod and did some slight stretching.

"Rest if you need to, you will feel well soon enough." Zelda stood up and hugged Kino. She left his room, leaving Kino in his sun-baked room.

He got out of his bed and was still in his armor. It had noticeable scratches from the earlier assassination attempt, but it could be easily mended. He walked aimlessly in the hallways, aware of the heightened awareness of the guards. His wandering led him to the massive library, where the floor was carpeted in a dark royal red similar to Kino's armor, and the room had a really high ceiling. The room was dimly lit by small windows despite the broad daylight outside. The library was strangely deserted, but it was likely that the people were attending to the court Zelda was handling on the upper levels of the castle. Kino stared at the towering cases of books as he walked down the aisles. He had never been in the castle library before, but it reminded him of what he did much of his free time back in Termina. Kino descended down the stairs to the lower floor, which turned out to be even darker than the upper floor. It was dark enough that candles and torches were constantly needed to keep the area lit. His walking stopped at the back corner of the lower library, where the oldest of the texts have been kept, but not deemed important enough to be preserved in the other library in the upper levels where only the privileged are allowed.

Kino slowly went scanned through the many texts and novels, dating back to the founding days of Hyrule and the Triforce. A thick, red, hardcover book shoved out of normal view behind many other books stood out and caught his eye. He took it out from the shelf and examined it. The red cover was blank, and the great amount of dust covering it showed nobody has noticed it for a very long time. Kino sat at the closest table and opened to the first page.

"_The History and Legends from the First Era of the Hyrulian Empire"_

Kino peeked at the table of contents. Three-quarters of the book were history of the Hyrulian Empire, divided into neat and well-organized chapters. The majority of the table of contents, however, covered the many legends written in the book. Some were short stories, other were merely a page long. Kino scanned through the many names in the table, and came across one that piqued his interest.

"_Guardian of the Triforce, unknown date prior to First Era"_

Kino flipped to the paged listed. At the top of the page was a grayscale drawing of the massive Triforce, apparently out in the open. Standing beneath it was a warrior wielding a massive two-handed sword. The soldier was drawn a tad too small to emphasize any more details, but it was clear he was in an attacking pose. The sword had just passed through a silhouetted figure, with the blood spray effect drawn. Kino proceeded to reading the text. The writing was slightly different as the Hylian characters have evolved.

"_In the early days of the Triforce, there lived a fierce mortal warrior of unimaginable power. Cursed by the darkness at a young age, he survived against the flow of time and defended the Triforce from anyone, ruthlessly and mercilessly. Anyone who dared challenged him to claim the Goddesses' powers died. His sheer power and cold, quiet nature was respected and feared by everyone. Very little is known about the warrior, but rumor was only the Princess of the recently established Hyrulian empire knew who he truly was, and where he came from. The death of the fierce warrior came at the hands of an evil sorcerer. Wielding a powerful object used in the vexing rituals of the sorcerer's tribe, the evil power was enough to kill the fierce warrior. The sorcerer was soon killed by his own tribe, and the vexing object was casted away. Sadly, with the Guardian of the Triforce gone, they were equally cursed with greed as the sorcerer. They killed everyone in their way on their pursuit of the Triforce. The Spirits of Light interfered and casted the sorcerers away into another realm. The death of the fierce warrior remained unsolved. Immediately after the warrior's death, the evil sorcerer disappeared. When the guards arrived, the body of the fierce warrior disappeared. All that remained were his sword, and a pool of blood. Officially, it was concluded that the body was taken by the sorcerer. The rumors, however, state that he might have been raised to the ranks of the Goddesses. Others say he descended deep into an underworld of sorts. Where ever he went, it is said that the fierce warrior will carry an eternal hatred towards one that killed him. The Triforce was sealed away, into another realm, where it will hopefully never be touched by mortal hands ever again…_

Kino closed the book, in somewhat of a trance. He started down at the cover of the book, lost in his thoughts. Somehow, that story felt very familiar. He slowly got up from the table and placed the book exactly where he found it. He walked out of the library staring down at the ground and bumped into someone.

"Oh, Kino, what a coincidence to find you here."

"I was reading," Kino replied. "It's a big library in there."

"That is only the normal library," Zelda noted. "What were you reading?"

Kino did not answer as they walked back into his room.

"I've noticed something has been worrying you lately," Zelda stated. "You seem frequently lost in your thoughts."

Kino looked back at Zelda, and then looked down. "It's just something that is haunting me, I can't describe it. I would…dream about it but it becomes vague when I wake up."

He walked over to the rail of the balcony outside his room, and looked east towards Hyrule Field.

"It's almost as if…as if…"

_He stood on a field, looking down at the ground. There were signs of battle. He examined the ground closely, and merely gave a small grin. He stood up, and looked at the horizon. He looked to the west, at the tall tower that loomed in the horizon. Through his sharp vision, he could see a young man slumped against a rail up on one of the towers. Standing beside him was a young woman trying to help him…_

Kino gasped as he opened his eyes, his heart pounding yet again. He was laying down on the marble floor, with Zelda over him. She was patting his forehead with a handkerchief while gesturing him to remain still.

"He saw me," Kino said with a broken voice.

"Who?" Zelda asked with worrying eyes.

"I don't know."


End file.
